UFC 254 Khabib vs. Gaethje Title Fight 

Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of BinK iT. Went 6-5 last week. This brings our record to 33-1-11 on UFC predictions since September. Some crazy judging out there. I usually complain as a bettor (LOL), but sometimes you question if the judges are watching the same fight. After all, they say don't leave it to the judges hands as things sometimes get messy for the fighters and us the gamblers. Aside from that, we have a HUGE HUGE card this week, as the fan favorite Khabib Nurmagomedov is back in the octagon to take on the ever exciting Justin Gaethje. 12 fights to breakdown, so let's get right into it! 

Khabib vs. Gaethje 

Let me first start by saying that I love the way Gaethje brings it to the octagon every time he steps in. He has beautiful striking and leg kicks that just chip away at you and has the knockout power to put you out. On the other side, you have an undefeated beast in Khabib. This guy has fought them all and is cleaning out the division at his own pace. This a close fight, I believe Khabib can dodge the punches and do his thing over and over. Prediction: Khabib by decision or submission

Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier 

Boy oh boy this fight is close! Whittaker is making his return after 2 months and I honestly don't like that. He fought Romero twice, Adesanya and Till last. All those guys put a lot of damage on him. Bubby Knuckles is tough as nails but this might be too much too soon. Cannonier is a beast himself, the dude fought at heavyweight once just imagine! The dude is ripped and looks ready to go every time. This is a little step up for him, but if he succeeds like imagine he should be close to a title shot. Prediction: Cannonier by decision or KO

Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris

Walt Harris is an athletic and powerful heavyweight but his gas tank tends to fail him in fights that go past round one. On the other side, Volkov can go 3 easy while producing high output and well-timed takedowns when needed. If Harris cant take his head off in the first then I see easily cruising towards a win. Prediction: Volkov by decision or late round GNP

Phil Hawes vs. Jacob Malkoun

I've known Phil Hawes for a bit now and I'm glad he finally passed the contender series test to get into the ufc. He brings Power and great takedowns, a skillset I see him using in order to get past Malkoun. Both are making their debut but i only see one coming out as the winner. Prediction: Phil Hawes KO or decision

 Leuren Murphy vs Liliya Shakirova 

Not Much to say about Liliya here after watching some of her previous fights.Very green and she will struggle against a gritty experienced fighter in Murphy. Prediction: Leuren Murphy by decision or 3rd round KO

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba

Man this fight really needs to happen! The first time they fought, Cutelaba decided to play possum standing and looked like was KO’d as the referee stepped in to stop the fight. He was just acting and that made for a horrible ending. Fight since then has been booked and canceled at the last minute 3 times. All in all I see this going like the fist fight, hopefully minus the acting. Prediction: Ankalaev by KO 

Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa

Not sure why Struve is still fighting. He looks a little slower every time he steps in the octagon. I don't think he can knockout Tuivasa or even get him to the ground to submit him. On the other side, Tuivasa needs to approach this fight a little smarter than his previous ones. If he does so, he should be able to win this without any issues. Prediction: Tuivasa by KO

Alex Oliveira vs.  Shavkat Rakhmonov 

This fight is straight fireworks. We all know by now what Alex cowboy brings to the table and it's always a joy to watch his fights. Now, Shavkat impressed me so much while watching his tapes that I watched them again. He is super exciting and I believe he will come out on top in UFC debut. Prediction: Shavkat Rakhmanov By Finish

Da Un Jung vs Sam Alvey

Same thing I said above about Struve applies to Smiling Sam. The dude is just slow and I don't think he can compete against the younger generation fighters like he used to. Jung is 6 years younger and looks like he has the tools to beat Alvey in this spot. Prediction: Da Un Jung By finish

Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick

Both fighters are young and green. Gun to the head, Maverick wins this baring an arm bar submission by Jojua from bottom. Prediction: Maverick by decision 

Casey Kenney vs. Nathaniel Wood

This fight is close. Both fighters are great at striking and grappling. I ever so slightly favor Kenney in this spot. I feel like he has the better chin of the two and can go very hard for 3 rounds. Prediction: Casey Kenney By Decision

Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev 

After Alvarez's last fight, I had this feeling that he wasn't gonna be an underdog in his next fight. Here we are, and I was right. I really like what he brings to the table. His striking is coming along away, while his Jiu Jitsu is just a joy to watch. On the other side, Yakovlev has some awesome rapping skills! Check it out! Ok back to fighting now. He just doesn't fight often and when he does i'm not that impressed and for that reason I will side with Joel. Prediction: Joel Alvarez by Submission or decision 

 Please Feel free to comment with your favorite fight(s) or predictions! 

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