Demetrious Johnson

Backs Whittaker's light-heavyweight move, expecting the extra weight to preserve his speed and cardio rather than drain him. He notes Krylov's finish-or-be-finished volatility, but still sees Whittaker's cleaner overall game as the better side.

“I'm going to have to go with Robert Whitaker.”

▶ Hear it — 2:08 View this fight →

Picks Kavanagh after weighing Royval's pressure and scramble chaos. He has trained with Kavanagh, likes the striking movement he saw in the gym, and thinks the young flyweight's rebound from the Charles Johnson loss points toward another step forward.

“I'm going to go with Lone Kavanagh.”

▶ Hear it — 11:38 View this fight →

Calls the rematch close and gives Bautista real credit, but sides with Sandhagen's well-roundedness and elite schedule. He frames it as a near coin flip before choosing Sandhagen as the fighter who has fought and understood the highest-level problems.

“I'm going to have to go with Cory Sanhagen.”

▶ Hear it — 15:11 View this fight →

Thinks both fighters thrive in chaotic scrambles, which gives Saint Denis a real path if he can set a pace Pimblett cannot match. His final read is still Pimblett, trusting the lessons from the Gaethje loss and Pimblett's ability to do enough in the chaos.

▶ Hear it — 19:27 View this fight →

Picks Holloway because activity and volume outweigh McGregor's early precision and power after the long layoff. He wants Holloway to push into boxing range, make McGregor work, and trust that McGregor's power fades if Max survives the early shots.

“I'm going to have to go with the blessed one, Max Holloway.”

▶ Hear it — 27:00 View this fight →

DJ sees Topuria as the most disciplined boxer he's watched, with elite fight IQ, and notes anyone who gets into a shootout with him goes to sleep. Gaethje's chin has been cracked repeatedly, and Topuria will willingly eat a shot to land his own.

• Anyone who exchanges with Topuria gets knocked out
• Gaethje has been dropped by many opponents
• Topuria is chasing Makhachev and may move to 170 after

“He does not mind taking a shot.”

▶ Hear it — 26:02 View this fight →

DJ leans Pereira because he's more engaged and 'not scared to fight,' and the fighter who isn't scared usually wins. The uncheckable calf kicks are Pereira's greatest weapon, though DJ flags real uncertainty over how Pereira moves at heavyweight.

• Pereira's uncheckable calf kicks are his greatest weapon
• Big unknown: how Pereira's frame moves at 265
• Gane has the better footwork, but DJ still picks Pereira

“I think the person who's not scared to fight typically wins. So for that, I'm going to go with Alex.”

▶ Hear it — 19:10 View this fight →

DJ picks O'Malley, who he sees in a flow state with strong takedown defence that makes it hard for Zahabi to close the distance. Zahabi's only real path is to grapple O'Malley onto his back with a near-perfect game plan.

• O'Malley's flow state and takedown defence are the difference
• Zahabi's only path is grappling him onto his back

▶ Hear it — 12:30 View this fight →

DJ expects Hokit to push the pressure, get in Lewis's face and frustrate him, since Lewis typically only hunts one big 'hitter-quitter' shot. Hokit always pushes the pace and shows up to fight — though Lewis can always land and catch him.

• Hokit's pace and feints frustrate Lewis's one-shot game
• Former 49ers fullback — elite athleticism and gas tank
• Caveat: Lewis can always catch him

“I'm going to go with Josh. I think he's going to push the pressure.”

▶ Hear it — 8:04 View this fight →

DJ takes Ruffy as too dynamic and just as athletic as Chandler, with his eyes set on gold. He thinks Chandler is at the tail end of his career — one win in his last six — and is out there to have a good time rather than chase titles.

• Chandler 1-5 in his last six — late-career fade
• Ruffy's dynamic striking is the edge if he avoids the takedown
• Ruffy's one vulnerability is being grappled

“I'm going to go with Ruffy. I think he's just too dynamic.”

▶ Hear it — 2:36 View this fight →

DJ predicts a dominant Chimaev finish: Chimaev takes everybody down, and while Strickland has never been manhandled or out-grappled, DJ believes Chimaev can be the one to do it — via the submission game from dominant position rather than ground-and-pound.

• Predicts a dominant finish (method left unspecified)
• Chimaev out-grapples and takes everyone down
• Must manage his gas tank or fade late

“I am going to predict a finish for Khamzat Chimaev, and he's going to be dominant.”

▶ Hear it — 26:47 View this fight →

DJ calls this the hardest fight on the card and is torn, favouring Taira's grappling on the ground, but goes with Van as the champion who can get it done and defend the takedown. He warns that if Van can't defend and Taira takes his back, it could be curtains.

• Calls it the hardest fight on the card to call
• Van must defend takedowns for five rounds
• Loses if Taira gets his back

“I'm going to go with Joshua Van. He's a champion.”

▶ Hear it — 18:30

DJ feels torn but thinks Volkov has the more well-rounded skill set and can grapple. He expects Volkov to negate Cortes-Acosta's power shot, get him down, and out-grapple him rather than trade with a man on a three-fight KO streak.

• Volkov more well-rounded, can grapple
• Negate the power, get the takedown
• Acosta on a three-fight KO streak

“I think Volkov is going to be able to negate that power shot, get him down, and then out-grapple him.”

▶ Hear it — 12:18

DJ goes with Buckley, noting Brady has always been finished in his losses (Morales, Belal) while Buckley was on a six-fight win streak with four finishes before losing to Usman. He frames Buckley as a finisher but commits to no method.

• Brady always finished in his losses
• Buckley a finisher — 4 finishes in a 6-fight streak
• Buckley must defend the takedown and keep moving

“Joaquin Buckley is a finisher. I'm going to go with my man Joaquin Buckley.”

▶ Hear it — 11:13

DJ picks Green for being more active against more well-rounded competition, while Stephens has been away from the sport. He stresses it's still a fight and Stephens can win, but if forced to pick he takes Green.

• Green more active vs tougher competition
• Stephens' time away a question mark
• A striking war either way

“If I had to make a pick, I'm going to go with Bobby Green.”

▶ Hear it — 4:13