Michael Bisping

Topuria is a precise, ungodly-powerful technician and a heavy favourite — to him, backing Gaethje is backing the likely loser.

* Said in a reaction video to Arman Tsarukyan's bet, not a dedicated prediction — he stops short of formally locking it in ("I'm not making my prediction yet"), but leaves no doubt he's backing Topuria.

Bisping favoured Gane on points the moment the fight was made — a Pereira win would be an upset. Gane's speed, lateral movement, angles and natural heavyweight size are a problematic stylistic matchup for a Pereira who walks straight forward, and the mass that lets Pereira hit hard also slows him down.

• Picked Gane on points the minute the fight was made
• Pereira has to cut the cage off perfectly to land — Gane isn't fazed by size or power
• Thinks the odds should be wider in Gane's favour

“The minute this fight was made, I favoured Ciryl on points. If Alex Pereira pulls it off, in my opinion, it's an upset.”

O'Malley is taller with better boxing and a longer reach, and Bisping leans on the Chito Vera common opponent — what O'Malley did to Vera versus how close Zahabi's own fight with Vera was — while admitting MMA math doesn't really stack up.

• Taller, better boxing, longer reach
• Uses the Chito Vera common opponent as a loose read

“Sugar Sean O'Malley is probably going to beat Aiemann Zahabi.”

Leans toward Hokit's speed, pressure and gas tank troubling a ~42-year-old Lewis, but won't commit — 'can Lewis land flush? I don't know.' The explicit 'Hokit' call late in the video is a guest's, not Bisping's; he frames a one-punch Lewis spark as the surprise, not his prediction.

All signs point toward Ruffy getting a spectacular knockout. He's precise, taller and longer with spinning kicks and flying knees and now trains with Volkanovski, while Chandler has lost five of his last six and taken a lot of damage.

• Ruffy: precise, taller, longer, spinning and flying weapons, now at Volkanovski's camp
• Chandler 5 losses in his last 6 — invokes the Tony Ferguson decline comparison

“All signs pointing towards Mauricio Ruffy getting a spectacular knockout.”

Picks Nickal but with real hesitation — the spot on the card where he can most see an upset. Daukaus has surged with two first-round finishes since returning, while Nickal is still proving he's a complete mixed martial artist.

• Picks Nickal but flags it as the most likely upset on the card
• Daukaus riding two first-round finishes; Nickal still establishing himself

“Bo Nickal probably… but I think that could be the one where the upset is.”

Lopes is probably going to beat Garcia despite Bisping loving Garcia. He expects Lopes — who did much of his camp at Oklahoma State — to shoot takedowns and use his jiu-jitsu rather than bang with Garcia, whose finishing power is most dangerous on the feet.

• Expects Lopes to wrestle (Oklahoma State camp) and win on the ground
• May rob fans of the striking battle, since Garcia's edge is on the feet

“Diego Lopes is probably going to beat Steve Garcia. I love Steve Garcia.”