Half The Battle — UFC Freedom 250 predictions

Levy favors Topuria as the much cleaner boxer and thinks Gaethje's tendency to get hurt makes him ripe for Topuria's combinations. He expects Topuria to knock Gaethje out and retain the lightweight belt.

“I'm gonna pick Ilia Tapora to come out here on the White House lawn, knock out the always exciting Justin Gachi”

Levy frames Lewis as live early for a knockout, but says that if Hokit survives the first round and a half, his pace, wrestling and pressure should break Lewis.

• Lewis is knockout-or-bust, mostly early
• Hokit's pace and wrestling are the route to taking over
• Does not attach a specific finish method

“the depths of the ocean and drown him. I'm going to go Josh Hokit to continue”

Levy thinks Ruffy can weather Chandler's early wrestling threat, punish Chandler's calf-kick vulnerability and eventually land upstairs. He calls for Ruffy to beat Chandler and knock him out.

“I'm going Mauricio Huffy”

Levy sees Daukaus as a live opponent but thinks Nickal's RDR loss may sharpen him, and expects Nickal to get back on track against Daukaus.

• Calls it a tough matchup to predict
• Views the RDR loss as a useful corrective for Nickal
• Does not specify method or round

“I'm going to pick Bo Nickal to win this fight.”

Levy likes Garcia as an underdog because he believes Garcia has better MMA boxing fundamentals, footwork and minute-winning tools, while Lopes relies more on opportunistic finishing moments.

• Garcia's boxing fundamentals and footwork are the edge
• Lopes has finish danger and a ground advantage
• Sees Garcia as a live underdog who can extend the streak

“department. So, for that reason, I'm going to pick Steve Garcia to come out”