UFC Fight Night 228: Quick Picks and Prognostications
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main card for UFC Fight Night 228.
UFC Fight Night 228 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Last event’s results: 3-1-1
Overall picks for UFC main cards in 2023: 96-70-5
Welcome to MMA Junkie’s Quick Picks and Prognostications, where I’ll be giving brief, fight-day breakdowns for UFC main cards.
With that in mind, I hope these write-ups don’t come off as curt or dismissive, as my goal here is to offer quick picks and analysis in a digestible format. All odds listed are provided by FanDuel.
If you’d like more detailed analysis from me, then feel free to check out my weekly show, The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.
So, without further ado…
Charles Jourdain (-144) vs. Ricardo Ramos (+118)
Bryan Battle (-188) vs. A.J. Fletcher (+152)
Marina Rodriguez (-325) vs. Michelle Waterson Gomez (+250)
Bryce Mitchell (-210) vs. Dan Ige (+168)
The co-main event in Las Vegas features fireworks between ranked featherweights Bryce Mitchell and Dan Ige.
My admitted bias toward Ige and his team aside, I have a hard time justifying Mitchell as a 2-1 favorite in this spot.
Don’t get me wrong: Mitchell is the more known grappling product and this fight will be taking place in the smaller cage, so anyone backing him here is well within their right.
I just believe that Ige is the more proven and prepared fighter who is not getting enough credit for the counter-grappling improvements he’s shown in recent fights.
Not only does Ige possess the power to put Mitchell away on the feet, but I also believe he can produce enough damage to edge out the scorecards if this goes the distance.
It’ll likely be another sweaty affair where we’re arguing about grappling control vs. striking moments, but I’ll side with the Hawaiian to take the judge’s scores out of the equation by scoring a knockout in Round 2.
Rafael Fiziev (-162) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (+132)
