That made for some interesting match-ups, and the possibility of a number of redemption stories.

Topping the event was two-time UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson, looking to snap a two-fight skid against fellow UFC alum Francisco Rivera in a bantamweight match-up. Rivera, who had last competed in the octagon in 2016, had returned to action last year, going 2-1 in 2021.

The co-feature saw Bellator, UFC, and PFL vet Curtis Millender in action against Jared “Nite Train” Gooden, fresh off a win at iKon FC 1 over Aaron Highbaugh.

Zak Ottow, meanwhile, was looking for his fourth straight win since parting ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, against Kyle Stewart — with the explicit goal of returning to the big show with a big finish.

Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Zak Ottow ahead of this one.

XMMA 4: Black Magic goes down Saturday, April 2, 2022 at The Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana. The card airs live exclusively on Fight Network, with the broadcast getting underway at 7PM ET. Full results from the event can be found below.

XMMA 4: Black Magic Results

Main Card

John Dodson def. Francisco Rivera Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jared Gooden def. Curtis Millender by TKO, Round 2, 0:16
Kyle Bochniak def. Carlton Minus by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ange Loosa def. John Howard by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kyle Stewart def. Zak Ottow by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

John Sweeney def. Cole Smith by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Sasha Palatnikov def. Kyron Bowen by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:03
Westin Wilson def. Tyrek Malveaux by submission (side choke), Round 1, 1:59
Louie Sanoudakis def. Tateki Matsuda by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Adli Edwards def. Josh Harvey by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 4:45
Andrew Garrette def. Justin Mead by TKO, Round 1, 1:36

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Ottow (20-7) returns to action for the second time in 2022 this Saturday. He faces fellow former UFC fighter Kyle Stewart in the main event of XMMA 4: Black Magic.

“The Barbarian” is coming off a first-round submission win over Derek Smith in January. He initially thought that would be enough for him to return to the UFC.

“I thought three in a row would probably do the trick,” Ottow told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview. “But that fight just happened in January, and I don’t really want to just sit and wait. I want to stay active and keep building up my resume and keep getting in there. Keep getting better. Keep, you know, testing myself, and so I took this fight. So, let’s make it four in a row. Get another finish and make it hard for them not to take me.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbxPHKTOh_n/

Ottow is 3-0 since fighting out his UFC contract in 2019. Now at a new weight class, he feels like the time is perfect for another run inside of the UFC. First, he has to get through a tough veteran like Stewart. The Wisconsin native believes he will get the finish before the fight is over.

“I always go for the finish, but I know not to rush it or hunt for it. It always just kind of seems to fall in my lap. XMMA pays a little bit extra if you get a finish, which is nice. If it’s on the regional level, I tend to get those [finishes]. It may take a little bit of time, though; I know he’s tough, maybe a second or third round,” Otttow said.

With a win, Ottow absolutely believes the UFC will resign him.

“Yes. Yep. Yeah, I’m gonna get this win, and then yeah, my poor manager. I am going to be a major pain in the ass after this. I wanted an opportunity like this,” Ottow said. “So, I’m pretty excited for this fight. And this is the right fight for me. It’s the right organization. But after this, if I get another win, Jason House is going to f*cking hate me because I’m going to be in his DMS every day.”

Watch the rest of our interview with Zak Ottow, where he talks about his UFC release, Montel Jackson, coaching, XMMA 4, and more. Ottow vs. Stewart goes down this Saturday, April 2 at XMMA 4, which you can watch on XMMA.com

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Milwaukee, WI — Zak Ottow came into UFC Milwaukee feeling like his job was on the line. Coming off a loss to Sage Northcutt, unable to string together a win streak in his UFC tenure, Ottow knew he had to win. So he took a short-notice bout with Dwight Grant on just two week’s notice. And didn’t even look at the odds. Probably a good thing, as he was a sizeable underdog.

However, Ottow made the most of it, picking up a split decision win in a fight that was low in action, but perhaps for good reason. “I took the fight on two week’s notice,” Ottow explained following to fight at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday. “The guy’s super long with a ton of power, talented striker. So I couldn’t just go rushing in there. I had to kind of probe, probe, false starts a lot.”

“The volume was kind of low,” he admitted. “But man, I felt a couple of his punches and I realized quickly that’s why people don’t make it out of their fights with him.” The power difference was plain as day to those watching, no doubt more so for Ottow, who had to deal with those punches. Yet he adapted, and came out with the win in a close one.

Ottow knew the fight was close as it unfolded, but definitely felt the crowd support. “It felt awesome to be fighting in my home town, it kind of pushed me that third round to keep grinding. I was able to win that third round, I think that’s what gave me the fight right there.”

Doing it in his own back yard was clearly special. “I’ve been all around the world, most of the time I’m the other guy,” he said. The difference of being the home town guy was clearly enjoyable for the fighter, who runs his own gym in Milwaukee, Pura Vida BJJ. “Man, I saw so many familiar faces and just the excitement when I was getting announced was incredible.”

His teammates, gym members, “friends, family, people I went to high school with, all sorts of people came out of the woodwork. Giving me Facebook messages during the week saying they were going to come in from out of state to go to this fight and stuff, it was crazy.”

Watch the full UFC Milwaukee post-fight press scrum with Zak Ottow above!

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Welterweight action topped the televised prelims at UFC Milwaukee (UFC on FOX 31) on Saturday. The featured fight saw Zak Ottow facing Dwight Grant, with Ottow, a Milwaukee native, getting plenty of crowd support as the fight at the Fiserv Forum got underway.

Ottow was also looking to bounce back from a loss to Sage Northcutt, recently departed to ONE Championship. However, early on, things went south for Ottow. On the attack, Grant connected, sending Ottow to the canvas. Rather than slow things down on the ground, Grant allowed Ottow back to his feet. Whether that was prudent remained to be seen. Ottow appeared to have recovered well, and worked angles to cut off the cage. Not a lot was connecting for Ottow, however.

Round two saw Ottow continuing his cautious approach, walking down Grant at times, circling away at others. Not a lot was landing for either man to the midway point of the round. Grant, when he launched kicks, sailed wide, spinning right around. With the crowd getting restless, the ref encouraged the pair to engage. Grant briefly stunned Ottow towards the end of the round, but Ottow rolled out of danger and was right back up. They’d exit the round, only to be met by jeers from the crowd.

Round three opened with Ottow looking for a finish, but it was Grant attacking along the fence early. However, a slip by Grant allowed Ottow to get on top, in Grant’s closed guard. He wasn’t able to find the finish he was looking for, and instead finished the fight striving to take his opponent down once again.

The scorecards, however, went in his favor, at least with two judges.

Zak Ottow def. Dwight Grant by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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Incredibly, Sage Northcutt has been fighting in the UFC since he was but 19 years old. Having just turned 22, Northcutt is 5-2 in the promotion — however both losses have been at welterweight. He was back at that weight class against Zak Ottow at UFC Boise on Saturday, in the evening’s co-main event. Ottow had just came off a win over the retiring Mike Pyle at UFC 222.

Round one featured Zak Ottow dominating Sage until the last minute, thanks to an early takedown. Ottow was on the ground landing ground and pound, looking for submissions and having his way on the ground. However Sage got back to his feet and started landing combinations, then looked for a guillotine and moved to mount as the round ended. With the late-round comeback attempt, it looked like Sage had all the momentum going into round two.

The second started with Zak Ottow looking for more takedowns, but Sage outlasted him and Ottow looked tired. Northcutt got back to his feet and landed a number of incredibly precise combinations that Ottow simply could not defend. He clutched for a leg in desperation, but Northcutt unleashed a number of hammer fists. Just like that, Super Sage was a winner at 170.

Northcutt gave one of his traditional post-fight speeches, basically reminding everyone that he’s the most polite, mild-mannered kid on the planet. He spoke of the power of words, and the complications (including college) that led to his initial struggles at welterweight. Something worth noting is that Sage is still incredibly young not just in the sport (he’s actually been in martial arts for years, but relatively new in MMA) but in life as well. Saturday at UFC Boise was arguably his best performance in the octagon. A good comeback win against a veteran, reminding fans that he has plenty of development, and plenty of big fights, ahead of him.

Sage Northcutt def. Zak Ottow by TKO, Round 2, 3:13

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FanSided’s Mike Heck first reported the first UFC Boise bout in development.

After a few hiccups from the UFC’s golden boy, Sage Northcutt has a chance to make it three-in-a-row when he fights a tough out in Zak Ottow. Ottow recently put a sour end to Mike Pyle’s career, and will look to halt Super Sage’s momentum in Idaho.

Sage Northcutt seems to be getting it together. After two entertaining wins to start his UFC career, the 22-year-old has gone 3-2, winning in his last two appearances. His last bout was not easy though, as Thibault Gouti gave Northcutt plenty of issues on the feet, rocking the Texas native several times. Fortunately for Northcutt, Gouti never pursued a finish and instead worked for takedowns that weren’t there. Northcutt left his home state the winner of a close decision that night. Northcutt has bounced around from camp to camp early in his career, but seems to have found a home with Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male.

Zak Ottow finished fights left and right before entering the UFC, with 12 of his 13 victories ending before the final bell. His Octagon career was quite the opposite. Ottow went to three straight split decisions to start his run, and never truly showcased the finishing prowess that got him to the biggest stage. After Chinese stud Li Jingliang finished him, Ottow was a much different fighter in his next bout against the aging Mike Pyle. The Wisconsin native did not stop once the fight began, pressuring Pyle relentlessly until his opponent dropped in the first round. If Ottow fights in a similar fashion against Northcutt, it could be two in a row for him.

UFC Boise takes place July 14 at CenturyBank Arena in Idaho. No other bouts are linked to the card as of yet.

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Jordan Johnson and Adam Milstead throw down at light heavyweight, Bryan Caraway returns against promising bantamweight Cody Stamann, and Mike Pyle will ride off into the sunset against Zak Ottow. All three of these fights take place at 6:30 p.m. EST on UFC Fight Pass to kick off UFC 222.

Mike Pyle’s career has not ended gracefully, losing four of his last five fights including three knockout losses. The one win was a surprising upset knockout against Sean Spencer which earned a Fight of the Night award. Zak Ottow has split his four UFC appearances, going to a split decision in the first three. Prior to signing with the UFC, Ottow had 10 submission victories and had finished 12 of his 13 career victories.

Cody Stamann is a promising bantamweight with a 16-1 record, including a win over hyped prospect Tom Duquesnoy. Bryan Caraway currently resides at seventh in the bantamweight rankings, and has been falling due to inactivity. Caraway has fought and won twice since 2015, and even had a top-five ranking before pulling out of two scheduled bouts.

To kick things off, Adam Milstead moves down to light heavyweight to battle Jordan Johnson. Milstead has finished all eight of his career victories, and is 1-1 in the UFC. However, the loss to Curtis Blaydes was overturned after Blaydes tested positive for marijuana. Having overcome the knee injury suffered in his last bout, Milstead is ready to bounce back at UFC 222. Johnson is an undefeated wrestler from the University of Iowa. Johnson is 8-0 with two wins inside the Octagon.

Below will be recaps of each fight, so keep checking in to see the results!

Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Milstead

Milstead popped a jab to start the fight, and followed with a combination. Johnson attempted to throw back but wasn’t finding success. Milstead swung heavy hands at Johnson, but none landed truly clean. Milstead waited for a Johnson jab and landed a nice pair of right hands to counter.

Johnson shot for a takedown but Milstead quickly bucked him off. Johnson went right back in got Milstead against the cage this time. However, Johnson was unable to bring Milstead to the ground. After taking some damage to the lower legs, Milstead exited with a hard elbow. Johnson went back in and held him against the cage for the remainder of the round.

Johnson started the second round with a stiff jab. Johnson looked much better on the feet in the second frame, mixing in body shots. Milstead lost his balance temporarily, and Johnson took advantage by pushing him to the fence. Milstead had the strength to resist the takedowns of Johnson, including a single leg attempt. Milstead threw a trio of punches behind the ear of Johnson and the fighters were broken up shortly after.

Johnson was caught on the feet, but he rushed in and got a takedown, taking the back of Milstead. Milstead was able to stand and Johnson kept him pressed against the cage until a referee separation. Johnson landed a jab and the round ended shortly after.

An exchange of hooks started round three, then Johnson shot for a takedown and Milstead threw him off quickly. Milstead was going for the kill, but Johnson was defending well, shooting for a takedown again which was unsuccessful. An overhand right landed for Milstead, then he was caught with a check left hand.

Johnson threw a jab then drove Milstead across the Octagon with a deep single that led to a takedown. Milstead was able to eventually stand, and landed heavy shots as Johnson clinched him against the cage. With little time left, Milstead separated and threw some more haymakers to end the fight.

Jordan Johnson def. Adam Milstead by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 27-30)

Bryan Caraway vs. Cody Stamann

Caraway went in with a combination after a tentative start to the contest, then shot for a takedown and somehow didn’t bring him down with a deep single. Stamann landed a hard right hand, but Caraway was right back in on the takedown effort.

Stamann separated and pushed the pace, but Caraway used his aggression to land a takedown. Caraway fought through the butterfly guard of Stamann. Caraway pinned an arm down with his leg after stepping over the head of Stamann, then attempted an armbar as time expired.

Stamann was popping Caraway on the feet to start the second round. Caraway dove in for a takedown but it was stuffed by his opponent. Caraway landed a jab and then a few clinch uppercuts. Stamann stuffed a takedown then landed a hard hook.

Caraway got on the offensive again, limiting the space of Stamann. Caraway was unsuccessful with a takedown, and Stamann made him pay with a hook and a two-punch combination. Caraway kept going for takedowns to end the round, but nothing came to fruition for Caraway.

Caraway started the third round with a few kicks, and Stamann started to turn it up. The hooks kept coming from Stamann as Caraway attempted to answer with leg kicks. Caraway was able to push Stamann against the cage, but Stamann escaped after about a minute of control.

A sneaky left landed for Caraway, then a weak takedown effort. Stamann was landing with consistency, so Caraway just pushed forward with no regard for defense. Both men were connecting and Caraway shot for a pair of takedowns that failed. Caraway and Stamann both landed heavy from the clinch, and Stamann shot for his first takedown with little time remaining. Caraway attempted a guillotine and rolled him over but could not get the tap as time expired.

Cody Stamann def. Bryan Caraway by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Mike Pyle vs. Zak Ottow

Zak Ottow moved in quickly with a few hooks, then a spinning back kick. Ottow was consistent with the jab, and began mixing in low kicks. Pyle landed a body kick and Ottow stayed on him. Ottow landed a low kick and landed a hard right that knocked down the veteran as Pyle was coming in. Ottow dove in and landed a barrage of punches on the ground, forcing the referee to call off the fight.

Zak Ottow def. Mike Pyle by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 (2:34)

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UFC welterweight Zak Ottow is back in the octagon Saturday at UFC 222. There, he’ll be looking to bounce back from a loss to Li Jingliang when he meets 42-year old veteran Mike Pyle. Pyle, who recently announced that this will be his retirement fight, first fought as a pro in 1999, and served as WEC welterweight champion.

That’s an formidable opponent for anyone, but Ottow has faced wily veterans before. We spoke to him ahead of the event in Las Vegas this weekend, to get his thoughts on fighting Pyle, avoiding the perils of fighting overseas, and his take on Li Jingliang’s controversial eye gouge at UFC 221.

First up, though, we delved into Ottow’s Wall Street background. ‘The Barbarian’ from Milwaukee spent a year working with stock brokers, yet eventually chose to fight for a living. As Ottow tells it, it wasn’t as if he simply chose between face punching and trading stocks, but the latter simply wasn’t for him. “I’d made some connections, I went to the Air Force Academy for two years. After that, I didn’t want to just go back home and go to state school,” he told Cageside Press. “I kind of used some of the connections I made out there to take up a job that was pretty much right there for me, working as an assistant to some stock brokers. They lived pretty high-stress lives, and although they made a lot of money, it seemed like they didn’t really get to enjoy it very much. Real highs and lows, which is a lot like fighting, but real day-to-day highs and lows. Long hours, I was away from home, and you had to be quite the salesman and stuff like that to do that job. I just didn’t think it was going to be for me in the long run.”

Working a paid internship, couch surfing to get by and practically penniless, Ottow was offered a job at the end of it. “But I pretty much had no more money left in my bank account,” he told us. He moved in with his brother back home, and “I didn’t even have a dollar to my name.”

Rich Franklin was a math teacher, Zak Ottow worked in the stock trade. The backgrounds of mixed martial artists can be a curious bunch.

Last time out, Ottow took on Li Jingliang, on the Chinese fighter’s home turn in Shanghai. The fight didn’t go Ottow’s way, and that made him an interested observer of ‘The Leech’ in his controversial fight against Jake Matthews at UFC 221. “I did watch the fight,” he said, “obviously paying attention to everybody in the welterweight division, but especially those that I think I may fight in the future, or that I have fought in the past.”

The foul, Ottow said frankly, “was pretty blatant. It wasn’t an accident or anything, I was very surprised that a point wasn’t taken.” As Ottow saw it, it definitely helped the Chinese fighter escape the submission he was trapped in.

Ottow saw the Matthews fight as going how he had planned to fight Li last November. “A lot of rolling after the punches, because Li likes to throw the counter hook especially,” he explained. Matthews tended to “lead a lot with the cross instead of the jab, and he’d roll underneath the counter hook and throw two more shots after, which was a very similar game plan to what I had. And he also kept the level changes with takedowns coming, and then level changing coming back up with strikes.”

‘The Barbarian’ watches past opponents, not just because of the possibility of a rematch, but because “it kind of helps give me a little confidence booster, if I see people that I fought and did well against, or fought and lost to, if they’re doing well. It helps just mentally with me as well.” Plus, every fight is a learning experience, and “you definitely tend to learn more with the losses.”

Zak Ottow is highly motivated to get back in the win column come Saturday, and opponent Mike Pyle brings a little bit of deja vu with him. Ottow was in a similar situation, fighting a rugged veteran in Josh Burkman when Ottow made his UFC debut in October 2016. “Yeah, it does feel like a little bit of deja vu,” he answered when asked about the similarity. “You know a guy that’s got some credentials outside of the UFC, but also a ton of UFC fights. Been around a long time. Him and Burkman were both guys I was fans of coming up when I started training in MMA, and it’s a pretty cool experience to get a chance to fight these guys.”

It also gives him a chance for another big name on his record, or as Ottow put it, “it’s a good little feather in your cap. But also at the same time, it’s kind of hard to teach an old dog new tricks, I think with the last couple years, Mike is kinda set in his ways, so it’s a little easier to prepare for.”

Which isn’t to say he doesn’t respect the veteran. “He’s got a good active guard, if I’m in the guard I have to be real diligent and mind my Ps and Qs, and make sure that I’m not getting myself out of position” Ottow explained. Pyle “likes to attack kimuras, triangles, omoplatas and arm-bars and all that stuff. He’s got good speed off of the submission attacks. If I end up in top of his guard, that’s something I’ve been practicing and just being aware about. On the feet, he does a couple of things too, really likes to counter with the right hand, and counter with the knee. Really good in the clinch.”

But in the end, Ottow is confident on how this goes. “First round KO. I think with my movement, ability to switch stances, I’m going to be able to draw those hands out away from his face. Lately, it seems like he’s been having a harder and harder time taking the big shots.” And if the fight does go long, “I know I can play that chess match with him which I know he likes to do,” Ottow said.

“He’s not going to be able to keep up with me at his age, and after the year long-plus layoff” he finished, because “I’m coming in with a lot of motivation and refusing to lose.”

UFC 222 will mark the first time in four fights that Zak Ottow has fought on U.S. soil. And that’s a big thing for a fighter who has been thrown into the front lines in enemy territory again and again. “That was some of the best news I heard about the fight and everything,” he told us. “One of the first things was ‘okay where is it?'”

Fighting abroad has lost it’s allure for Ottow, it seems. “The first time you travel, it’s a cool experience. By the time you do it three times in a row, it’s a little old.” He’s glad to be back home, “just to break it up a little bit. Three times, right in a row, pretty much going and fighting the person in their home [town], it’s just nice to get one in the States where, not only do I not have to adjust to a new sleep schedule and time change, but just having access to all the food and water and stuff I need for my weight cut, it’s going to be great.”

The cost was also becoming a big factor. “I take three corners, they’ll [UFC] pay for you and one corner, but to bring the other two corners, for example, the New Zeland fight was short notice, they’re booking my flights three weeks out. So you can imagine, a flight to New Zeland, for two tickets on short notice, pretty expensive. And also the taxes – China took like 33% of my check right off the top.”

No travel, this time out, no problem. And despite the costs and hardships endured by pro fighters, Ottow isn’t entirely sold on any of the union and association efforts currently popping up around the sport. Instead, he sees the UFC as slowly moving in the right direction, in regards to fighter salary and insurance. “If I had been in the UFC just like, 16 years ago,” he pointed out, “I’m getting paid way more than those guys got paid.”

“As far as a fighter’s union and all that stuff, up until this point things have been pretty disorganized,” he continued. “It seems like some people are doing it for their own benefits.” For him to be interested, “there would have to be something that really is just in favor of the fighter’s benefits.”

Ottow also signed a new UFC deal recently, and despite coming off the loss to Li Jingliang, “I did get a little bump up.” That, combined with recent changes to the Reebok outfitting policy that sees newer fighters take home a little more money, has him happy.

And after the Pyle fight, Ottow is looking forward to fighting a little closer to Milwaukee, if not right there in town. “They made a June card in Chicago, I’m on the South Side of Milwaukee,” he said, not far from Chicago. “That would be nice, to fight in the United Center in June if I come out healthy [from UFC 222].”

“Other than that, there’s even been some rumors that the UFC could come to Milwaukee in September, or late August, and tie in with the Harley Davidson 115th Anniversary” he noted. “If I could get on a card close to home, that would be awesome.”

Don’t miss Zak Ottow take on Mike Pyle, this Saturday at UFC 222 in Las Vegas, NV. The fight goes down live exclusively on UFC Fight Pass, where it serves as the featured preliminary fight on the streaming service.

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Li Jingliang is the flag-bearer for the UFC in China, being far and away the most successful fighter from the nation. “The Leech” is 5-2 in his Octagon career, and is riding a three-fight win streak into UFC Shanghai. The streak contains knockouts over Anton Zafir and Bobby Nash, then a great fight of the night against Frank Camacho over the Summer. Jingliang is 13-4 in his MMA career.

Zak Ottow was a former football player in the Air Force Academy, but has carved out a nice MMA career following his college days. Ottow is 15-4 in his career, with a 2-1 record in the Octagon. Although he came into the UFC with 12 finishes, that side of his game has not been seen, as all three of Ottow’s Octagon appearances have ended with a split decision.

Li Jingliang opened the action with a pair of leg kicks, to which Zak Ottow responded with an attempted head kick. Ottow landed right hand around the guard of Jingliang, then ate one from his opponent.

A high kick was caught by Jingliang but couldn’t land anything of note though, and Ottow landed a two-punch combination. Jingliang landed a clean right, then a left during an exchange. A beautiful right straight landed for Zak Ottow and he was floored. Li Jinglian pounced and punched like a mad man until Herb Dean was forced to pull him off.

The home crowd exploded for Jingliang as he ran out of the cage and right to his family in the crowd to celebrate.

Jingliang claimed he’ll be on his way to the title with more performances like this one.

Li Jingliang def. Zak Ottow by TKO (Right Straight and Punches) in Round 1 (2:57)

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Staff Writer	Salikhov vs. Garcia	Caceres vs. Guan	Jingliang vs. Ottow	Bisping vs. Gastelum
Heath Harshman (89-43)
Mike McClory (68-44)
Dan Doherty (79-53)
Mike Straus (17-12)
Paarth Pande (69-51)
Jay Anderson (74-58)
Gabriel Gonzalez (31-25)
Eddie Law (63-63)

UFC Shanghai went from a lousy card with an intriguing main event, to a lousy card with an important main event in a matter of weeks. Anderson Silva unfortunately failed a USADA drug test, but that opened up the opportunity for the last middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, to step in against the ever-improving Kelvin Gastelum.

Michael Bisping is just three weeks removed from his title fight loss to Georges St. Pierre, which has fans worried about his health heading into a bout with a dangerous striker like Gastelum. Bisping’s title reign lasted nearly a year and a half, but he only defended his title once before UFC 217. Kelvin Gastelum is officially 1-1 with one no contest since moving up to 185-pounds, but the no contest was a first-round knockout overturned for marijuana usage. Five of eight writers believe Bisping will suffer a two-fight losing streak for the first time in his MMA career.

Li Jingliang is China’s biggest star in MMA and is beloved by UFC fans for the constant action in his fights. “The Leech” is on a three-fight winning streak with a pair of knockouts and a Fight of the Night bonus. Zak Ottow entered the Octagon for the first time last year and has since gone 2-1, with all of his fights ending with a split decision. Cageside Press is not split on this one at all, with Jingliang being picked unanimously.

Wang Guan is a very promising Chinese bantamweight with a 19-1-1 record including 14 knockouts and 13 first round finishes. He will be making his promotional debut against the well-known Bruce Leeroy AKA Alex Caceres. Caceres recently stopped a two fight skid with a second-round TKO, and has been with the promotion since 2011. Cageside Press believes experience will be the key here, with six of eight writers siding with Bruce Leeroy.

Muslim Salikhov is another scary Dagestani fighter making his UFC debut. What makes him stand out though, are his many gold medals in Sanshou, which is otherwise known as Chinese kickboxing. Salikhov is 12-1 in MMA with 10 knockouts, and he’s knocked out his last two opponents with spinning back kicks. Let that sink in. Alex Garcia is a physically intimidating fighter with a 4-3 record inside the Octagon. Cageside Press is on the hype train, with all but one writer picking Salikhov.

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