Big fight card in the City of Angels this Saturday as the West Coast hosts UFC 331.
Twelve bouts are on the docket, including one title fight and another potential championship eliminator in what should be a very fun evening in Los Angeles.
We lost one fight, Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega, from the card due to an Ortega injury, leaving 12 bouts.
Of those 12, we have a rare even split of them expected to go the distance vs. to end in a finish.
Three matchups in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions are overwhelmingly expected to end inside of a round.
The entire card will start at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+, with the main card beginning at 9 p.m.
UFC 331 predictions
Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja
This is a rematch of last December’s match that disappointingly ended in an injury for Pantoja and a TKO win for Van in only 26 seconds.
Since then, Van has come into his own, beating the brakes off Tatsuro Taira in a fifth-round TKO victory that was more of a mercy ending than anything else.
Taira landed eight takedowns in that fight but was extremely hittable as Van landed incredible levels of power punches for the flyweight division.
The last thing we saw from Pantoja was a nasty elbow injury that held him out for nearly a year. Pantoja reportedly did not elect to get surgery and instead went through extensive physical therapy, which gives me plenty of pause about wagering on him.
For starters, Pantoja, 36, is well behind the normal age curve of success at flyweight.
Meanwhile, Van is the champ, ever improving and in the prime of his career.
He’s perhaps the best boxer in flyweight history and highly entertaining to watch.
If Pantoja dominates the grappling, more power to him, but I’m not so sure that he’ll be able to pull that off in this fight.
I’m targeting Van to win in the late rounds or by decision.
Prediction: Van wins + the fight goes Over 2.5 rounds (+185, DraftKings).
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy
This is a five-round non-title fight — not three — so that distinction matters for this lightweight title eliminator.
Tsarukyan is an excellent grappler and a big-time UFC star at this point, despite upsetting the promotion on multiple occasions for infractions outside the cage.
Ruffy is a future title contender, by my standards, as an elite striker, but I have major concerns about his ability to stop takedowns.
We saw him get smashed by Benoit Saint Denis last year, and he’s been given easier matchups since then, exclusively striker vs. striker.
Tsarukyan eventually will get to Ruffy if he can avoid being knocked out first, which he hasn’t been in his career.
Target the favorite to win by submission, which he did last time out against Dan Hooker.
Predictions: Tsarukyan wins by submission (+230, FanDuel); Over 3.5 takedowns (-107, Novig).
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Rest of the card
Patricio Pitbull vs. Dooho Choi: Choi by decision (+215, DraftKings).
Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf: Steveson by submission (+500, DraftKings); small bet on Steveson by decision (20/1, FanDuel).
Alonzo Menifield vs. Iwo Baraniewski: Baraniewski moneyline for parlays (-250, DraftKings).
Marlon Vera vs. Charles Jourdain: Fight goes the distance -200 for parlays; small bet on Vera wins by decision (+550, FanDuel).
Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne: Tuivasa moneyline (+525, Novig).
Michael Aswell Jr. vs. JooSang Yoo: Fight goes the distance (-156, ProphetX).
Ryan Gandra vs. Ozzy Diaz: Very small bet on Gandra by decision (15/1, theScore Bet).
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira: Shahbazyan wins and the fight starts Round 2 (+115, DraftKings).
Casey O’Neill vs. Eduarda Moura: O’Neill by submission in Rounds 2 or 3 (15/1, FanDuel).
Giga Chikadze vs. Joanderson Brito: Fight goes the distance (+182, bet365).
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