Demetrious Johnson — UFC 328 predictions
Picks scorecard
3 of 5 decided picks correct
- Demetrious Johnson: Called 6 of 11 resolved picks
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4:13Watch this pick
King Green vs Jeremy Stephens
Pick King Green · to win
Result King Green by Sub, R1 Hit
All analysts: 23 picks — 20 Green · 3 Stephens
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.”
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11:13Watch this pick
Sean Brady vs Joaquin Buckley
Pick Joaquin Buckley · to win
Result Sean Brady by Dec, R3 Miss
All analysts: 24 picks — 16 Brady · 8 Buckley
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.”
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12:18Watch this pick
Alexander Volkov vs Waldo Cortes Acosta
Pick Alexander Volkov · to win
Result Alexander Volkov by Dec, R3 Hit
All analysts: 24 picks — 19 Volkov · 5 Cortes Acosta
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.”
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18:30Watch this pick
Joshua Van vs Tatsuro Taira
Pick Joshua Van · to win
Result Joshua Van by KO/TKO, R5 Hit
All analysts: 26 picks — 8 Van · 18 Taira
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.”
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Pick Khamzat Chimaev · to win
Result Sean Strickland by Dec, R5 Miss
All analysts: 26 picks — 24 Chimaev · 2 Strickland
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.”