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This weekend sees the UFC head over to Dallas, Texas for its latest major pay-per-view event, which features a huge rematch in the headliner.
UFC 277: Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes 2 features two title bouts, as well as several other major fights up and down the card. This one should basically be unmissable for fans, and could well prove to be one of the best events of the summer.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC 277: Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes 2.
#1. UFC women's bantamweight title: Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes
This UFC bantamweight title rematch promises to be one of the biggest ones in the history of female MMA, if not in the history of the promotion point blank. The first bout between Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes featured one of the biggest upsets of all time, so how will this one go?
Naturally, neither woman has fought since their first meeting, which took place last December. Literally everyone was favoring Nunes going in, as Pena had not really shown any evidence that she was capable of dethroning ‘The Lioness’.
However, she displayed tremendous patience, poise and toughness in the bout, weathering the storm that Nunes brought while also tagging her with cleaner, straighter punches. Eventually, those shots added up, ‘The Lioness’ was hurt and Pena took her down and submitted her with a rear-naked choke.
So what exactly happened? Nunes claimed that some lingering injuries and a poor fight camp led to her downfall. She also blamed a punch from Pena that landed behind her left ear for destroying her equilibrium. The admission was classy, but can ‘The Lioness’ turn it around this time?
In all honesty, it’s debatable. Prior to the first fight, nobody thought that Pena’s boxing could do so well against the Brazilian, but then Nunes fought unusually wildly, throwing haymakers without really setting them up.
Whether ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ can tag Nunes with her jabs and straight punches if the Brazilian takes a more technical approach, then, is the big question here. The other big question is whether the years have simply begun to catch up with Nunes.
After all, ‘The Lioness’ has been fighting at the top level now for over a decade, and while she hasn’t taken too much damage in the octagon, who knows how many times she’s been hit heavily in training?
Pena, meanwhile, will come into this clash full of confidence. Despite only being two years younger than Nunes and having major knee surgery in the past, she’s probably closer to her athletic prime and has more in the tank.
If both women were at their best, then Nunes would probably be favored here, but the way she lost the first fight was reminiscent of other great UFC champions being dethroned. The majority of them – the likes of B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva – never reclaimed their gold.
With that in mind, the pick is Pena via decision.
The Pick: Pena via decision
#2. Interim UFC flyweight title: Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France
The latest in a seemingly never-ending series of questionable interim title bouts, this one will crown a new interim flyweight kingpin, despite current titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo reportedly being ready to fight before the end of 2022.
Interestingly enough, it’s also a rematch of an earlier fight, as Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France fought at UFC 245 in December 2019, with ‘The Assassin Baby’ coming out on top via unanimous decision. So, can the former champion defeat the Kiwi fighter again?
One thing is for sure: this fight should produce some genuine fireworks. The first bout between the two was a real barnburner, with Kara-France taking the fight to Moreno early on before the Mexican channeled his inner Nate Diaz, showboating and calling ‘Don’t Blink’ on while also tagging him with heavy strikes to take the win.
Since then, of course, Moreno has raised his game even further, defeating Figueiredo for the flyweight title in 2021 before losing it back to him, but overall he’s 1-1-1 with the Brazilian and clearly has unfinished business with him.
Kara-France, meanwhile, has gone 4-1 and is currently on a three-fight win streak. He knocked out Rogerio Bontorin and Cody Garbrandt, and most recently snapped Askar Askarov’s unbeaten run.
The difficult thing to call here is whether ‘Don’t Blink’ has made the correct kind of adjustments that might allow him to repeat his first round against Moreno across a longer period. He does carry KO power, but it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be able to knock ‘The Assassin Baby’ out, meaning he’ll need to outpoint him down the stretch.
Even if Kara-France has made some changes, though, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to take the fight to Moreno in the same way that Figueiredo did, and in that sense, it’s hard to imagine him having enough success over five rounds to win.
With that in mind, the pick is Moreno via decision in what will likely be the best fight of the night.
The Pick: Moreno via decision
#3. UFC 277: The Main Card
In a heavyweight bout, Derrick Lewis takes on Sergei Pavlovich. This one could allow Pavlovich to climb into UFC title contention if he can win, but can he overcome ‘The Black Beast’? The smart money is probably on the Russian to pull this off.
Pavlovich is smaller than Lewis, but he appears to be far quicker, hits very hard, and has excellent technical boxing. Lewis’ power is always the big equalizer, of course, but he hasn’t looked that hot in his recent bouts, and at the age of 37, he may be slowing down somewhat.
Add in the fact that he isn’t likely to take Pavlovich down, and the Russian’s only loss came on the ground to Alistair Overeem, and it feels like this could be a breakout fight for the younger man. The pick is Pavlovich via TKO.
In a flyweight bout, Alexandre Pantoja faces Alex Perez. Pantoja might be this division’s major dark horse, as he’s essentially a less explosive version of Deiveson Figueiredo, with similar submission skills and knockout power. He’s also got wins over Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval and Manel Kape.
Perez is a dangerous fighter in his own right, but he feels like one step behind ‘The Cannibal’. He also hasn’t fought since his loss to Figueiredo back in November 2020. Therefore, the pick is Pantoja via submission.
In a light heavyweight clash, Anthony Smith faces Magomed Ankalaev. This fight could well produce the next title challenger in this UFC division, meaning there’s a lot on the line here.
Of the two, Ankalaev has been on the better run. The Dagestani appears to have no weaknesses, as his wrestling is brutally strong, he’s a great technical striker with power, and he doesn’t really slow down.
Smith, though, is more proven at elite UFC level, has won three bouts in a row leading into this one, and can take a horrendous beating and come back from it. With that said, ‘Lionheart’ has struggled before when he’s been planted on his back, and if anyone can do that, it’s Ankalaev.
This fight might prove to be closer than one might expect, but the pick is Ankalaev via a late TKO.
#4. UFC 277: The Prelims
Picks in bold
Welterweight bout: Alex Morono vs. Matthew Semelsberger
Lightweight bout: Drew Dober vs. Rafael Alves
Light heavyweight bout: Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria
Welterweight bout: Orion Cosce vs. Mike Mathetha
Women's flyweight bout: Ji Yeon Kim vs. Joselyne Edwards
Lightweight bout: Drakkar Klose vs. Rafa Garcia
Heavyweight bout: Don’Tale Mayes vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab
Welterweight bout: Michael Morales vs. Adam Fugitt
