Part two of our double-header weekend for MMASucka staff picks is in.
UFC Vegas 79, also titled as UFC Fight Night 228, will take place later tonight, September 23rd from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Preliminary fights begin at 4:00pm ET (1:00pm PT) followed by the main card at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) with all bouts available to watch on ESPN+.
Stay tuned to MMASucka for live results from UFC Vegas 79: Fiziev vs. Gamrot.
Be sure to recap our picks from today’s Bellator 299: Eblen vs. Edwards event from Dublin, Ireland. Also, stay tuned this upcoming Tuesday the 26th for our Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 8 picks from Las Vegas.
The Fights
Sixth-ranked Rafael Fiziev and seventh-ranked Mateusz Gamrot battle for their placement among the lightweight division in the night’s featured headliner.
Muay Thai specialist Fiziev returns to the octagon for only the second time since his last win in July of 2022 where his first main event saw a fifth-round knockout over former divisional champion Rafael dos Anjos. His back-and-forth defeat in March to Justin Gaethje snapped a dominant six-fight win streak dating back to a loss in his UFC debut as the Azerbaijani talent targets another run towards the top. Poland’s Gamrot has seen a similar run with a loss in his late-2020 inaugural UFC fight as well as having four consecutive wins snapped to Beneil Dariush by decision last October. A former two-divisional Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki Champion, the American Top Team competitor knows what it takes to get to and become champion in preparation for his sixth five-round contest.
In the co-main event, featherweights will meet between Bryce Mitchell and Dan Ige. Former V3 Fights Champion and The Ultimate Fighter 27 competitor Mitchell returns after his undefeated professional run of 15 victories was snapped to Ilia Topuria last December. 2017 Contender Series contract winner Ige turned three losses in-a-row into back-to-back wins this year with a devastating second-round knockout over Damon Jackson in January and a June decision over Nate Landwehr.
Strawweight veterans Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson-Gomez look to get back to their winning ways in a rematch on the main card. The two had previously met in May of 2021 at 125 pounds with Rodriguez taking the closely-contested five-round bout by unanimous decision.
The Ultimate Fighter 29 Middleweight Tournament Champion Bryan Battle takes on 2021 Contender Series victor A.J. Fletcher in the welterweight division. 145 pounders of Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos and Canada’s Charles Jourdain clash in the opening main card fight of the night.
Who wins and who is predicted to win at UFC Vegas 79: Fiziev vs. Gamrot? Find out further below.
Top 1️⃣0️⃣ lightweight battle going down in tomorrow’s main event!@RafaelFiziev vs @Gamer_MMA#UFCVegas79 | SATURDAY | Live on ESPN+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/CB7oqJZwCd
— UFC (@ufc) September 22, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and/or preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Take a look below at our picks and predictions for UFC Vegas 79: Fiziev vs. Gamrot.
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series – Season 7, Week 6:
1. Ben Jamieson: 231-117
2. Michael DeSantis: 228-120
3. Jeremy Brand: 222-126
4. Wesley Riddle: 220-128
5. Nate Freeman: 216-132
6. Frazer Krohn: 211-137
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 192-110
8. Andrew Benjamin: 161-137
9. Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
10. Brian Knight: 140-84
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
17. Chris De Santiago: 6-6
18. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – Bellator 299 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Ricardo Ramos (16-4), -120
vs.
Charles Jourdain (14-6-1), -142
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Jourdain via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Ramos via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Jourdain via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Jourdain via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ramos via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Jourdain via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Jourdain via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Jourdain via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Ramos: 2
Staff picking Jourdain: 6
Bryan Battle (10-2), -185
vs.
A.J. Fletcher (10-2), +154
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Battle via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Battle via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Battle via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Battle via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Battle via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Battle via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Battle via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Battle via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Battle: 8
Staff picking Fletcher: 0
Marina Rodriguez (16-3-2), -310
vs.
Michelle Waterson-Gomez (18-11), +250
Women’s Strawweight Division
– 115 LBS. ~ 52.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Waterson-Gomez via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Rodriguez: 7
Staff picking Waterson-Gomez: 1
Bryce Mitchell (15-2), -205
vs.
Dan Ige (17-6), +170
Featherweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Mitchell via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Mitchell via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Mitchell via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Ige via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ige via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Ige via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Mitchell via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Mitchell via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Mitchell: 5
Staff picking Ige: 3
Rafael Fiziev (12-2), -155
vs.
Mateusz Gamrot (22-2, 1 NC), +130
Lightweight Division
– Main Event –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Fiziev via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Fiziev via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Fiziev via Round 3 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Gamrot via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Fiziev via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Gamrot via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Fiziev via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Fiziev via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Fiziev: 6
Staff picking Gamrot: 2
