The UFC is heading to San Antonio, TX, and we have a fun card in store. Headlined by top Featherweight contenders Diego Lopes and Jean Silva, we will have an awesome night of fights in store.
Today, I will break down my 3 favorite bets for this weekend’s fight card. Let’s get into it!
We have a battle between two vets here, but Gastelum has had much more success in his UFC career. Stoltzfus has a 3-6 UFC record and has yet to record consecutive wins in his 5-year tenure. It has been rocky lately for Gastelum as well, but the level of competition he has faced is much higher. Over his last 3 fights, he lost to #1 contender Sean Brady, beat #13 Daniel Rodriguez, then lost to up-and-coming contender Joe Pyfer.
Gastelum has fought the best of the best in his career, including 5 former champs over his UFC run. He is only 33, and if he can get back on a winning track, he could make a late career revival.
This fight is going to come down to Kelvin’s ability to keep Stoltzfus off of him, which he has succeeded at for the most part in his career. His striking and experience give him the edge in my mind, and I think he takes this one, like most of his other fights, by decision.
MY PICK: Kelvin Gastelum by Dec
David Martinez is a hot new prospect in the Bantamweight division, but this is a huge jump in competition for him. Martinez is just 1 fight into his UFC career and will now be taking on Rob Font, who is a well-respected veteran who has fought the top guys for years.
His last four losses are against Jose Aldo, Chito Vera, Cory Sandhagen, and Deiveson Figueiredo. In summary, that's two long-standing champs and two perennial top contenders. Font’s last two fights have been wins against rising prospects, so this is just another one on his list.
This is likely going to be a straight stand-up fight. Martinez is a very skilled striker, with 10 KO/TKO wins out of 12 pro wins. He won his UFC debut with a nasty counter punch to TKO, but he will have a huge step up in competition with Font. Font is a pure boxer with nasty KO power who is extremely skilled. I think he will be a little too much for Martinez to handle, but this will certainly be a fun one.
MY PICK: Rob Font
We have a banger of a main event this weekend with Diego Lopes, fresh off a championship loss, taking on the scariest featherweight prospect around, Jean Silva. Both of these guys are Brazilian, but Silva hails from the Fighting Nerds gym, which last week saw two of their top guys take losses. Silva is 5-0 in his UFC career with a 100% finish rate, but Lopes will be his toughest test yet.
Both of these guys are extremely well-rounded with both grappling and striking, and that usually leads to a solid stand-up fight. Both of these guys fight extremely aggressively, and that makes me think that Silva may have the edge. He is a maniac when he fights with constant pressure and elite skill.
Lopes will give him a good fight, but we have seen him get beaten up before, and his fight with Volk may have taken a toll on him a bit. I think Silva is going to really make a statement this weekend with a dominant win over a title contender. Take him with the points so you win a dominant decision or get the finish.
MY PICK: Jean Silva -5.5 -165