This week’s Writer vs. Fighter features Host of Cageside Press’ podcast Top Turtle MMA, ‘Shockwave’ Dave Tramonte, and UFC’s Ike Villanueva making their picks for UFC 264.
It’s time for another battle for pick supremacy. We pit those who write about face punch with those who do the punching to see who knows more about what will go down at UFC Vegas 30. Here’s how each week has gone so far:
Joe McDonagh def. Randy Costa (3-2) – Fight Island 7
Doug Murray def. Bryan Barberena (2-1) – Fight Island 8
Shawn Bitter DRAW Mike Rodriguez (1-1) – UFC 257
Dalton Rosta def. Jay Anderson (7-2) – UFC Vegas 18
Austin Arnett def. Heath Harshman (2-1) – UFC 258
Sam Hughes def. Gumby Vreeland (3-0) – UFC Vegas 19
Mike McClory def. Orion Cosce (5-2) – UFC Vegas 20
Josh Evanoff def. Cortney Casey (2-1) – UFC 259
Aiemann Zahabi def. Alex Behunin (5-0) – UFC Vegas 21
Sergio Pineiro def. Kai Kamaka III (7-0) – UFC Vegas 22
Gabriel Gonzalez def. Vince Morales (7-4) – UFC 260
Jordan Leavitt def. Rodney James Edgar (4-2) – UFC Vegas 23
Ryan Fortune def. Rani Yahya (7-3) – UFC Vegas 24
Dakota Bush def. Dylan Bowker (6-5) – UFC 261
Bryson Hester def. Arlene Blencowe (3-0) – UFC Vegas 25
Nate Maness def. Justin Gibbons (4-3) – UFC Vegas 26
Gumby Vreeland def. Kyle Nelson (4-2) – UFC 262
Mike Lynch DRAW Christian Edwards (4-4) – UFC Vegas 27
Doug Murray DRAW Ramiz Brahimaj (6-6) – UFC Vegas 28
Joe McDonagh def. Domingo Pilarte (8-6) – UFC 263
Heath Harshman DRAW Steven Peterson (4-4) – UFC Vegas 29
Sergio Pinheiro def. Terrance McKinney (5-4) – UFC Vegas 30
The writers are on a roll and add even more to their lead. The current lead stands at 10-6. Let’s see if the fighters can start to dig themselves out of this hole.
Here’s how it works: both writer and fighter must pick the winner of the main event, co-main event, and featured main card bout. A correct pick will earn one point. Both must then pick a “lock” — the fighter they are most sure will win their fight — from the entire card. That’s two points. The “dog” comes next, and a correct underdog pick earns three points.
It’s that simple. Five picks: Main, co-main, and featured fight winners, lock, and underdog. To the winner go the spoils. Not actual spoils, but bragging rights anyway.
On this week’s edition, host of Cageside Press’ podcast, Top Turtle MMA, Dave Tramonte, takes the helm for the writers at UFC 264. He’ll be faced with a big task… literally. UFC heavyweight Ike Villanueva makes the picks for the fighters this week. Let’s see what they’ve selected.
Plenty of similarities on this one. Both men are riding with favorites Tai Tuivasa and Wonderboy Thompson on the main card. They both also stuck with the exact same locks. Both Shockwave and Hurricane Ike are taking Sean O’Malley (a nearly -900 favorite) to beat the newcomer Kris Moutinho.
However, there are a few differences. The most notable of them comes in the main event. Tramonte is expecting Poirier to get it done much like he did the first time. Villanueva meanwhile, thinks Conor has made the adjustments and is going to storm back and win this thing. They also differed on their dogs. Tramonte, the jiu jitsu lover, is going with Ryan Hall to beat Ilia Topuria. Villanueva, on the other hand, likes Trevin Giles to score the minor upset over Dricus du Plessis.
May the best writer/fighter win! Check back here to see the results following the conclusion of UFC Vegas 264.
