Holloway vs. Stephens: It's the raw skill of Max Holloway against the heart of Jeremy Stephens. In my humble opinion, this will probably be the fight of the night. While Stephens can definitely pull off a "Hail Mary" KO in the last round (like he did with that crazy "Tiger Knee" against Dennis Bermudez"), I believe that Holloway will be wise enough to keep his guard up. He'll probably outland Stephens in a striking war to get the decision.
Winner: Max "Blessed" Holloway by decision.
Maia vs. Nelson: Eight years ago, I would say Maia, because he's one of the best grapplers that the UFC has ever signed. However, he is 38 now, and Gunnar Nelson, in addition to having decent BJJ himself, is 27. If Maia can trick Nelson into making a mistake, I could see him getting the sub in Round 1. However, if Nelson stays cautious, I believe that he will out-grapple an exhausted Maia in Rounds 2 and 3 to get the decision.
Winner: Gunnar "Gunni" Nelson by decision.
Souza vs. Romero: This is basically a "lion vs. shark" match. The winner will be determined by whether the battle takes place on land (standup) or in the sea (groundfighting). Jacare is the shark to Romero's lion, and I believe that, due to his Olympic wrestling background, Romero will get overconfident and take it to the ground. If that happens, I see Jacare pulling off the submission to earn the title shot against the Weidman-Rockhold winner.
Winner: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza by submission.
Weidman vs. Rockhold: Both men are lethal grapplers with deadly submissions, so I see this being settled on the feet. In that case, Weidman comes across as the slightly better striker, so I see him edging out Rockhold on the judges' scorecards to win the decision after a five-round war.
Winner (and still UFC middleweight champion): Chris Weidman by decision.
McGregor vs. Aldo: After McGregor's blasphemous remarks about Jesus, I am definitely pulling for Aldo. However, unless Christ decides to humble McGregor by taking away his striking talent, or Aldo decides to take his BJJ off the shelf, dust it off, and use it, this looks like another win for McGregor. Aldo has been able to coast on his striking for most of his UFC fights. That's not going to work on a guy who fights like an Irish ninja.
Winner (and new UFC featherweight champion): Conor "Notorious" McGregor by KO.
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