In quiet but predictable fashion, the month of April comes to an end for our MMASucka Crew pick-up.
UFC Vegas 72UFC Fight 223, also named UFC Fight 223, is set to begin action later tonight, Saturday the 29th, from UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The initial card will be available for viewing by both ESPN2 For cable viewers and ESPN+ For subscribers at 4:30 PM ET (1:30 PM PT). Six main card battles will follow at 7:00 PM ET (4:00 PM PT) only on ESPN+.
Stay tuned with MMASucka for live scores from UFC Vegas 72: Song vs. Simon.
fights
Rising Bantamweight Stars Song Yadong And Ricky Simon They will meet in the five-round featured main event. The two were only expected to fight across three rounds in last weekend’s co-main event UFC Vegas 71 until they were rescheduled after Renato Moicano He was injured and forced out of his lightweight pair with Arman Tsarukyan.
Yadong will be walking his 12th career into the octagon in what will be his second consecutive octagonal appearance. Although losing to Corey Sandhagen After stopping the doctor in that fight last September, the 25-year-old has many years ahead of him to represent Team Alpha Male in what he hopes will be his 20th career win. Yadong’s opponent, Simon, has great momentum with five straight wins since May of 2020. The former LFA Bantamweight Champion and former Titan FC title challenger has faced defeat just three times in 23 fights and is looking to find more success in his first UFC main event.
In the co-main event, Cayo Boralho And Michael Oleksczuk We look forward to supporting their successful years in 2022 in the middleweight division. Three straight wins for Buralho last year added to the active Brazilian’s streak a dozen fights back to his one and only career defeat in the mid-215 to Joao Carvalho. Poland’s Oleksieczuk turned things around after a 3-2 stretch with consecutive knockouts in the first round. Sam Alfie And Cody Brundage.
Multi-time world jiu-jitsu champion Rodolfo Vieira of Brazil has returned after a nearly year layoff to take on the former two-division middleweight champion in the Lights Out division and the aforementioned Brundage champion.
Three additional fights make up the main card lead, including the Ultimate Fighter 22 alum Julian Erosa15-fight veteran octagon Marcos Rogerio de Limaand his undefeated finisher Josh Quinlan They fight their respected opponents from promotional newcomers Fernando Padillawinner of the 2022 Contender Series contract Waldo Curtis AcostaAnd, in a short time, he was newly crowned LFA Lightweight Champion Trey Watersrespectively.
See below for our UFC Vegas 72 main card picks.
Up close and personal 😤@tweet against @tweet Highlight tomorrow night!
[ #UFCVegas72 | Tomorrow | Main Card 7pmET | Live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/3l8kSfCaUd
– UFC (ufc) April 28, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka’s team selections consist of five promotions: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature main card selections only. The PFL will show select fights from the main and preliminary card while the DWCS will see all fights counted from the event. The ONE-Selection Championship returns for the first time since 2020 and will feature only card-selected Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights with a minimum of three matches.
The winner of the Selected Staff at the end of 2023, who selected the fighters with the most victories, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a series of championship chains. Staff picks won in 2022 Wesley Riddell With a record of 264-135.
Find out our MMASucka Staff predictions for UFC Vegas 72: Song vs. Simon below.
Employee records after Bellator 295:
1 c. Tim Wheaton: 86-44
1 c. Ben Jamison: 86-44
3. Michael DeSantis: 84-46
4. Nate Freeman: 83-47
5 t. Jeremy Brand: 81-49
5 t. Fraser Kron: 81-49
7. Wesley Riddell: 80-50
8. Julio Monteros Jr.: 71-48
9. Brian Knight: 67-39
10. Andrew Benjamin: 66-59
11. Romelu Reyes: 62 – 34
12. Jack Goodwilly: 61-41
13. Jonathan Andrade: 20-14
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yoli: 7-6
*Note – not all employees opt for each event*
Josh Quinlan (6-0),
against.
Trey Waters (7-1),
The flabby weight section
– 170 lbs. ~ 77.1 kg. –
Jeremy Brand: Quinlan via unanimous decision
Wesley Riddle: Quinlan via 2-round TKO
Michael DeSantis: Quinlan via Round 2 TKO
Fraser Kron: Quinlan by unanimous decision
Nate Freeman: Quinlan via unanimous decision
Tim Wheaton: Quinlan via Round 3 SUB
Brian Knight: Quinlan via unanimous decision
Jack Goodwillie: Waters via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamison: Quinlan via 2nd round TKO
Jonathan Andrade: Quinlan via 1st round TKO
Employees who choose Quinlan: 9
Staff selection for water: 1
Marcos Rogerio de Lima (20-9-1),
against.
Waldo Curtis Acosta (9-0),
Heavyweight division
– 265 lbs. ~ 120.2 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Cortes-Acosta via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Cortes-Acosta via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Rogerio de Lima via 2nd round TKO
Fraser Krohn: Cortes-Acosta via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Curtis-Acosta via unanimous decision
Tim Wheaton: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Curtis Acosta via 2nd round TKO
Jack Goodwilly: Curtis-Acosta via unanimous decision
Ben Jamison: Curtis-Acosta via 2nd round TKO
Jonathan Andrade: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Employees who choose Rogerio de Lima: 1
Employees choose Cortes-Acosta: 9
Julian Erosa (28-11),
against.
Fernando Padilla (14-4),
Featherweight division
– 145 lbs. ~ 65.8 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Erosa via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddell: Erosa Cross Decision Split
Michael DeSantis: Erosa via Round 2 SUB
Fraser Krohn: Erosa via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Erosa via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Erosa via unanimous decision
Brian Knight: Erosa via unanimous decision
Jack Goodwilly: Erosa via unanimous decision
Ben Jamison: Erosa via unanimous decision
Jonathan Andrade: Erosa via unanimous decision
Erosa staff selection: 10
Padilla staff pick: 0
Rodolfo Vieira (8-2),
against.
Cody Brundage (8-3),
Middleweight division
– 185 lbs. ~ 83.9 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Vieira via unanimous decision
Wesley Riddell: Vieira via split decision
Michael DeSantis: Vieira via Round 1 SUB
Fraser Krohn: Vieira via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Vieira via Round 1 SUB
Tim Wetton: Vieira via unanimous decision
Brian Knight: Vieira via unanimous decision
Jack Goodwilly: Brundage via unanimous decision
Ben Jamieson: Vieira by unanimous decision
Jonathan Andrade: Vieira via unanimous decision
Vieira staff selection: 9
Brundage staff selection: 1
Cayo Buralho (13-1, 1 NC),
against.
Michal Oleksiczuk (18-5, 1 NC),
Middleweight division
– Co-main event –
– 185 lbs. ~ 83.9 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Borralho via unanimous decision
Wesley Riddell: Boralho via unanimous decision
Michael DeSantis: Borralho via unanimous decision
Fraser Kron: Borralho via unanimous decision
Nate Freeman: Borralho via Round 2 SUB
Tim Wheaton: Boralho via unanimous decision
Brian Knight: Borralho via unanimous decision
Jack Goodwilly: Boralho via unanimous decision
Ben Jamison: Borralho via Round 3 TKO
Jonathan Andrade: Borralho via unanimous decision
Borralho staff pick: 10
Oleksiejczuk staff pick: 0
Song Yadong (19-7-1, 1 NC),
against.
Ricky Simon (20-3),
Bantamweight Division
– The main event –
– 135 lbs. ~ 61.2 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Simon via unanimous decision
Wesley Riddell: Simon via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Yadong via Round 2 TKO
Fraser Krohn: Yadong by unanimous decision
Nate Freeman: Simon via unanimous decision
Tim Wheaton: Yadong via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: This via a 3 round TKO
Jack Goodwilly: Yadong via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Simon via 2-round TKO
Jonathan Andrade: Yadong by unanimous decision
Yadong staff selection: 6
Simon’s Staff Choice: 4