While I’m a fan of Jack Hermansson, dealing with Jacare is a lot different than dealing with David Branch and Gerald Meerschaert. Hermansson picked up submission wins in his last two fights, but that mechanism isn’t in play for this one. I have more exposure to Jacare than any other fighter tonight. Plus, if we’re to believe Jacare, a win gets him the winner of Whittaker/Adesanya. I don’t have much interest in the Whittaker rematch, considering Whittaker was the first person to finish him since Mousasi landed the up kick from hell a decade ago. Jacare/Adesanya feels like a lot of fun, though.
I’m expecting a war between John Lineker and Cory Sandhagen. Lineker has terrifying power. While Iuri Alcantara is certainly past his prime, Sandhagen was the first guy to stop him via strikes…ever. Sandhagen is a very live dog, so I’m splitting a lot of exposure between both guys.
Ignore all of the other Greg Hardy chatter. Smoliakov was finished in his only two UFC appearances. Hardy is just a different level athlete. As long as he’s not aggressively sloppy, Hardy finishes this one pretty quickly.When Angela Hill is at her best, she’s volume striking. That shouldn’t be difficult against Jodie Esquibel, who is 1-3 in her last four fights. She also has a history of being an unsuccessful boxer. This one feels as safe as anything on the card, as evidenced by Hill being the biggest favorite on the card.