With just three events remaining in 2017, the Cageside Press staff looks to close out the year strong starting with UFC Fresno.
| Staff Writers | Morales vs. Lopez | Anders vs. Perez | Holtzman vs. Horcher | Moraes vs. Sterling | Knight vs. Benitez | Swanson vs. Ortega |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heath Harshman (94-47) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Dan Doherty (89-57) |  | |  |  | | |
| Harry Davies (76-55) | | | | | |  |
| Jay Anderson (81-65) | | | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (74-60) | | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (36-34) | | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (71-69) | | | | | | |
UFC Fresno is a card topped off by compelling matchups, culminating with Cub Swanson’s never-ending quest for a UFC title shot as he takes on Brian Ortega.
Cub Swanson has had a fantastic UFC career since dropping his promotional debut to Ricardo Lamas. Following the defeat, Swanson has amassed a 10-2 record only losing to champion Max Holloway and top contender Frankie Edgar. He’ll look to continue his four-fight win streak against Brian Ortega, who has yet to lose in his 13-fight career, earning stoppages in all five of his Octagon appearances. All but one of the seven staff writers sided with the veteran Swanson.
Jason Knight looks for another exciting performance in the co-main event. His UFC career consists of a four-fight win streak sandwiched between a pair of losses, most recently to top contender Ricardo Lamas. Gabriel Benitez has lost two of his last three, but is 3-2 in the UFC overall. “Moggly” has stopped his opponents in two of those victories. Every writer is with Jason Knight for this bout.
Aljamain Sterling takes on Marlon Moraes in a very crucial matchup in the bantamweight division. Moraes dominated WSOF before heading over to the UFC, going 11-0 with six title defenses. Since then, he is 1-1 in a pair of underwhelming split decisions in the Octagon. Sterling has bounced back from two straight losses with a pair of great striking performances against Augusto Mendes and Renan Barao. The staff slightly favors Moraes with four writers picking him to Sterling’s three.
Darrell Horcher entered the UFC on a five-fight win streak but had to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in his debut. Since then, he defeated Devin Powell by decision. Scott Holtzman has gone 3-2 in his Octagon career, alternating wins and losses. The Cageside Press staff believes Horcher makes it two-in-a-row at UFC Fresno with five writers siding with him.
Eryk Anders had an impressive UFC debut, knocking veteran Rafael Natal into retirement. His opponent is undefeated Brazilian newcomer Markus Perez, holding a 9-0 career record. Cageside Press unanimously favors Anders.
Albert Morales has had a difficult UFC career since Lookin’ for a Fight found him, going 1-2-1 in the Octagon. Benito Lopez is making his debut at UFC Fresno after appearing on the Tuesday Night Contender Series. The staff favors the 7-0 Lopez by a 5-2 margin.
