Sergei Spivak – TKO Round 3 (Spivak, at his core, remains a grinding wrestler who can expose the one-trick nature of many Heavyweights. Despite all the memes, Lewis is a very difficult fighter to pin down to the mat. There is reason to believe that we may have witnessed a physical decline in Lewis over his past two losses, however. If not for such a perceived decline, Lewis would have to be favoured in the stylistic match-up. Spivak is deathly slow on the feet, despite refining his fundamentals over his UFC tenure, and is primed to walk on to a Black Beast highlight reel)
Da Un Jung – Decision (Jung may have been iced by Dustin Jacoby in under a round last time out, but the South Korean should be far too polished on the outside to be troubled by Clark on the feet. The American is phenomenally durable and a strong athlete but he has regularly shown technical deficiencies in one of the UFC’s weakest divisions for talent)
Marcin Tybura – Decision (The fans lose in this one. Tybura was able to stop the rampant hype train of Alexandr Romanov through virtue of having a gas tank longer than a single round. The Pole remains a controlling wrestler with unambiguous striking, but he will at least attempt to set some sort of pace, unlike Ivanov)
Doo Ho Choi – TKO Round 2 (Injuries have hampered Starboy’s return, yet even in his losses to strong competition, Choi has shown glimpses of his former skills to suggest he’s still got it. Nelson is relatively heavy-handed but has been totally neutralised in his wrestling (10% TD accuracy))
Yusaku Kinoshita – Submission Round 2 (Kinoshita is still a work in progress at 22 years old yet he holds a stark athletic advantage over Adam Fugitt. Expecting the Japanese prospect to dictate early exchanges and punishing Fugitt’s increasingly sloppy takedowns)
Jeka Saragih – Decision (Jubli bullied his opponents on the ground in the regionals before petering out in an ugly affair against stiffer opposition on Road to UFC. Jeka Saragih’s slight size could be an issue if he ends up on his back. Backing the Indonesian’s volume and tenacity on the feet to swing the scorecards, however)
Jeong Yeong Lee – TKO Round 2 (The Korean Tiger has spent little over a minute fighting in the Road to UFC, backing up the ferocious killer instinct prevalent throughout his career. Lee does tend to drop defensive sensibilities in search of the finish, however, which could be dangerous against Yi’s unrefined yet heavy hands)
Rinya Nakamura – TKO Round 1 (Rinya Nakamura represents the most interesting prospect in the Road to UFC finals – boasting an extensive background in wrestling and having enjoyed an easy transition to MMA. Toshiomi Kazama could pose a threat off his back with his submission arsenal but it’s easier to see Nakamura ground’n’pounding his way to victory)
Hyung Sung Park – Decision (Park’s aggression on the feet leaves glaring holes to be countered, yet as seen on the Road to UFC, there is often enough volume to keep opponents gun-shy. Choi is conservative on the feet – making cute adjustments over the rounds – but his inability to dictate the pace of a fight will see him drop close rounds)
Jun Yong Park – Submission Round 2 (Jun Yong Park is durable and adaptive yet often leans towards firefights in the pocket. Tiuliulin will thrive in such conditions yet he will struggle when the South Korean threatens with his wrestling)
Tatsuro Taira – Decision (Jesus Aguilar may be on an 8-fight win streak, including a third-round submission victory over Erisson Ferreira on the DWCS, yet few are giving the Mexican prospect a chance. Aguilar, as Taira, is threatening on the mat yet it seems on tape comparison to be a level below his Japanese counterpart)
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