UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega - Predictions and Picks

#4 Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak

Kyle Bochniak showed tremendous heart against Zabit Magomedsharipov

On even their biggest pay-per-view shows, the UFC always seems to manage to showcase one fight that doesn’t really belong on the main card. Case in point here; the prelims feature 6 ranked fighters, including two in Claudia Gadelha and Eryk Anders who have main evented UFC shows before, and yet a fight between the unranked duo of Dawodu and Bochniak is on the portion that fans have to actually pay for. It’s baffling in my opinion.

That’s not to say this will be a bad fight, though; Bochniak is aggressive and reckless to a point and while he’s lost 3 fights inside the Octagon since his 2016 debut, his wild showing against Zabit Magomedsharipov in a losing effort probably gained him a lot of fans. Not the most technical striker, Bochniak tends to throw bombs with a lot of power, but his willingness to trade and wade through his opponent’s offense makes him dangerous.

Dawodu on the other hand is an explosive prospect who thus far hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. After putting together an unbeaten 7-0 record in WSOF, he was upset by the unheralded Danny Henry in his UFC debut – dropped and submitted inside a minute – and then outpointed the equally unheralded Austin Arnett in a largely forgettable fight in July.

Dawodu is probably the better athlete and a more technical kickboxer, but I’m not sure that he can pick apart Bochniak – something even the great Magomedsharipov struggled with – and if Bochniak can wade in and turn this into a firefight, his power could prove to be the difference.

The Pick: Bochniak via unanimous decision