UFC 263- Geek Vision Breakdown

Geeks dial in and breakdown the most anticipated fights of UFC 263

ADESANYA VS. VETTORI II

Saturday night, Marvin Vettori will take on the 185 lb champion Israel Adesanya in a packed Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. This fight marks a rematch between two fighters that ended in an Adesanya split decision victory back in 2018. “The Italian Job pt 2” as referred to by Izzy. This time the elite striker is predicting a dominant finish in an attempt to close the book on his Italian rival. Vettori has other plans for how this matchup will go. The build-up to this fight has been a breath of fresh air to see two guys with genuine bad blood prepare for battle. The interviews have been interesting and the banter’s been entertaining. Israel Adesanya is coming out to prove he is still the king at 185 after a failed attempt to take the 205 lb belt. Vettori hopes to use the blueprint laid out by Jan Blachowitz on how to defeat the Last Stylebender. Marvin has referred to this fight as destiny, and openly says he will out wrestle his opponent for the win. We just saw this gameplan deployed in his win over Kevin Holland on April 10. The difference; however, is that Izzy is a league above Holland. Izzy is bigger and more athletic with much better takedown defense. Not to mention, there’s a case to be made for Izzy being the best striker on the planet. I expect the fight to be close early as both men are headstrong and not willing to give an inch. As the fight goes on, look for Adesanya to grind him down and go for the finish late. Prediction: Adesanya 4th Round TKO

Geek - Goosey

FIGUEIREDO VS. MORENO II

For the Co-Main event we've got an epic rematch between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, where the last time they scrapped it ended in a draw. The only reason Figueiredo didn't win a decision was because of a series of low-blow shots to Moreno that eventually grounded him for a couple minutes forcing the ref to deduct a point from Figueiredo. The line was the exact same number coming into the first fight with Fig at around -230 and Moreno floating around the +200 range, which is definitely something weird to see after a draw at Flyweight. The first time they fought there was a massive flood on Figs line as the fight got closer and closer, probably because nobody knew who Moreno was really. I wouldn't be surprised to see the lines start to go down for Moreno as we move into Saturday taken what he did last time out and the great 2:1 price he's at right now. What nobody is talking about and it's what I think is going to play a massive role in the rematch, is the fact that Figueiredo's going to be 100% healthy and off a full camp unlike the last time they met. Fig's team later reported after his last bout with Moreno that Fig was hospitalized with food poisoning the night before the fight, on the verge of having to pull off the card. Don't get me wrong Moreno is a great guy, but without a trip to the ER... I got Figueiredo 2nd Round Finish.

Geek - Tha Geek

EDWARDS VS. DIAZ

The fans get a treat in this one with the return of Stockton’s own Nate Diaz. The OG returns from a long hiatus to take on Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards in the first ever 5-round non-main event or title fight. Nate’s appearances have been few and far between since he burst into stardom after defeating Conor McGregor at UFC 196, so fans need to embrace the moments we have left watching this legend of the game. That being said, this fight could prove to be too much for him as Leon Edwards is as game as they come. Leon is working his way up to elite company in the welterweight division. After winning 8 straight fights, he was on the better end of his last contest before an accidental eye-poke caused a no contest. Leon seems to be on a mission coming into this one. He has made it known to everyone that he is ready for a rematch with Kamaru Usman for the 170 lb belt, and there is certainly a case to be made with a win in this one. Nate is always evolving his game, so it is hard to predict exactly what his plan of attack will be after the long layoff. A win over the #3 contender would definitely propel him into title conversation. This will be a tall task though, as Leon will have the size, speed and athleticism advantage. I like Leon to avoid the ground game and outstrike Diaz in dominant fashion. Prediction: Edwards 3rd round TKO.

Geek - Goosey

MUHAMMAD VS. MAIA

This fight is one I put off until the very end because it was one that stumped me. Maia is one of the older guys who used to be elite, but time is catching up to him. However we are at a time where I think this fight is as simple as a changing of the guard. I say that because, Damien is getting up there in age (43), whereas Belal (32) is arguably entering his prime and with a win Saturday, I believe he jumps into the top 10 rankings. Maia is coming off one of the biggest layoffs yet. Belal still has hype around his name and I know his last fight he was getting beat and it didn’t look good, but it was Leon Edwards, I can understand that. Also with Belal, this will be his 4th fight in the past year all being wins, other than the No Contest to our man Leon I mentioned earlier. Now, another downside to Maia, his last fight was a TKO loss to Gilbert Burns, so there had to have been some damage there with the long take off. I personally don’t see Maia having much success this Saturday because Belal can throw down on the feet and hang with the best of them on the ground. Belal constantly walks forward and stays behind his jab, which will come in handy because as Maia has aged he looks for people to overthrow and then take them down. I just hope with his win, he doesn’t call out Leon again!

Prediction: Belal Muhammed by Decision

Geek - Dirty Dan

CRAIG VS. HILL

OH BABY are the geeks pumped for this one! We got Jamahal Hill, a young prospect working his way up the rankings after an OSP finish a couple months back and he is HUNGRY! Craig on the other hand is a highly experienced grappling specialist and often referred to as the gate keeper of the division, which he welcomes. This is a classic grapplers versus striker matchup, where we are gonna see Craig dive relentlessly for Hill's legs in desperation to land the fight on the mat. "Deep waters" is where Craig plans to take Hill on Saturday, "somewhere he's never been before." Only problem with trying to take Hill to "deep waters" is trying to hold down someone with his pure athleticism and explosiveness. I see a whole bunch of failed TD attempts and a public execution, maybe even an early finish for this weeks Geek of tha Week. I'd predict 2nd Round KO for Hill.

Geek - Tha Geek

DREW DOBER VS. BRAD RIDDELL

Headlining the prelims, we have a Geek Certified Banger! Drew Dober and Brad Riddell are two primary strikers that will be looking to brawl it out. Dober trains out of Elevation Fight Team in Denver, Colorado with some elite fighters like Justin Gaethje and Kamaru Usman. Riddell trains out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand with some of the most elite fighters in the UFC. The gym is home to some of Oceania’s best fighters including Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Dan Hooker to name a few. This fight will be a big one for both fighters as Riddell looks to get in the rankings with a win and Dober could be out of the rankings with a loss. Dober’s last fight was a loss to the rising star Islam Mackachev. I expect his wrestling to have improved from that camp and Dober to have the better ground game in this fight. The advantage for Ridell will be his hands as he is a former boxer. The advantage for Dober comes from being the more experienced fighter and overall more well rounded game. Given this I will be taking Dober in what has the making of a potential Fight of the Night for UFC 263. Prediction: Dober by Decision.

Geek - Goosey

ERYK ANDERS VS. DARREN STEWART

People are focused about the rematches of Figgy/Moreno and Vetorri/Adesanya, and are forgetting about these two! Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart had a big brawl a couple month back at middleweight. This time they are fighting at light heavyweight. We can do all the research, but this fight can and very well be decided by who lands that one punch. So, to give you some talking points about this fight, Anders has experience at light heavyweight, where Darren Stewart has not or only fought a couple times at this weight. Additionally, their first fight happened in March and it was a no contest because Anders threw an illegal knee that ended this fight. This knee did in fact land and Stewart was out of it right away and obviously injured. So, now lets take a step back and take a look at Anders…this man just kneed Stewart in the Head about 3 months ago and they are about to run it back. I think that's a little too short of a turnaround, we are going to be having a packed house on Saturday, Anders was the better looking fighter last time they fought we put everything together and I see an Eryk Anders TKO in Round 2.

Geek - Dirty Dan

CHASE HOOPER VS. STEVEN PETERSON

This fight is interesting... just like any Chase Hooper fight, in the way that you have no clue how in the actual fuck he's surviving in the UFC with all these killers. The kid brings an educated ground game but would lose a standup fight to a blindfolded WeeMan. Peterson on the other hand is no stellar beaut himself with a hand full of KO Ls, but I credit him for his dog mentality having never been subbed. The UFC values Hooper because the kid gets ratings, Sean Shelby and Dana White are usually pretty good at finding the right matchups for guys like this, which definitely scares me, but after barely getting out of his last fight with a snaked sub W in the third round last time out. I think they're in too deep with this matchup, and Wonderboy's striking camp won't be enough for the kid. I'm seeing a beat down but not a finish, I'd take Peterson by Decision.

Geek - Tha Geek