UFC Predictions: UFC Vegas 17: Thompson vs. Neal predictions and picks

#3 The Main Card: UFN on ESPN+ card

Former NFL star Greg Hardy features on this weekend's UFC undercard.

The rest of Saturday’s main card features four fights. A UFC Welterweight bout between Michel Pereira and Khaos Williams sounds like tremendous fun for starters.

This bout will see two of the UFC’s most explosive athletes going head-to-head, with both men coming off the best performance of their UFC career. This one is tricky to pick – Pereira is the more varied striker, but I suspect Williams’ power will pull him through, and so I’m taking him to win via KO.

In the UFC Bantamweight division, Marlon Moraes faces Rob Font. Moraes was last seen being KO’d by Cory Sandhagen, so this fight should tell us a lot about where he figures in the division right now. Font is a tricky opponent simply due to his lanky style – he’s 5’8” and has a 71.5” reach.

Moraes, though, is the more explosive fighter, and if he can get his leg kicks going, I suspect that he can cut Font down to size. If Font can land a big shot, then he could test Moraes’ durability, but he also hasn’t fought in the UFC in a year. With that in mind, I’m taking Moraes via decision.

In the UFC Heavyweight division, Greg Hardy faces his biggest test to date when he takes on Marcin Tybura. Hardy will have a big speed and athleticism advantage here, but Tybura is tough, has far more UFC experience, and has great skills in all areas.

Despite that, though, I’m going with Hardy. He hits hard, even for a Heavyweight, and we’ve seen Tybura lose three fights by KO in the UFC thus far. And while Tybura is on a three-fight win streak, it’s also worth noting that he’s been fighting against very slow opponents.

On the other hand, Hardy has continued to improve steadily, and while he’s not the finished article yet, I think his athleticism pulls him through here. Hardy via TKO is my pick.

Finally, Anthony Pettis faces Alex Morono in the UFC Welterweight division. This one should come down to how much Showtime still has in the tank. He beat Donald Cerrone back in May, but to be frank, both men looked past their sell-by-date in that fight.

Morono is clearly not on the same level as any of Pettis’ recent opponents. He’s solid enough – carrying a 7-4 UFC record – but he lacks the raw athleticism needed to get to the top of the UFC, and he’s been knocked out before.

For me, this could be a nice fight for Pettis right now. Morono doesn’t have the offense to really hurt Showtime as the likes of Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson did, and he isn’t good enough on the ground to get the better of Pettis there either.

In fact, Pettis’ underrated submission skills might be the area that wins him this fight. I’m going with ‘Showtime’ via tapout.

#4 The Prelims: UFC on ESPN+ card picks

Picks in bold

UFC Welterweight division: Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima

UFC Bantamweight division: Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad

Catchweight bout: Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo

UFC Bantamweight division: Aiemann Zahabi vs. Drako Rodriguez

UFC Middleweight division: Jamie Pickett vs. Tafon Nchukwi

UFC Lightweight division: Rick Glenn vs. Carlton Minus

UFC Flyweight division: Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden

UFC Flyweight division: Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos

UFC Middleweight division: Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Karl Roberson