Who ya'll got?
Santana
Drago
Susurakaev
Da Silva
Ewert
Murtaza Talha (7-1) Vs Baysangur Susurkaev (8-0) - Middleweight
I like Talha and I feel a bit sorry for him here. Regular DWCS watchers might remember him from losing a good fight up at 205 against Rodolfo Bellato a couple of years ago where he was just a bit outsized. He was supposed to fight Damian Pinas which I thought was a winnable fight for him but he got hurt and he got replaced by Susurkaev which for me is an absolutely brutal replacement to get and kind of like training for a sprint and turning up and getting told you're running a marathon.
Susurkaev can be a bit lazy and bit prone to fucking about in his fights and not taking his opponent seriously but I think he's probably the most talented guy on the whole season. I guess Murtaza's saving grace could be that Baysangur took this on late notice and looked like he had a tough weight cut but I don't think it'll help him much and I think the skill gap is gonna be too big to overcome.
Prediction - Susurkaev - R1 KO (gets contract)
Christopher Ewert (7-0) Vs Yuri Panferov (8-1) - Middleweight
Ewert was in the UFC for about 2 days this year after taking a short notice fight but then got cut for missing weight by a lot but they let him keep his shot on this. He's a pretty solid fighter imo, not amazing skill wise but good hands, tough and fights at a good pace with a lot of pressure and output. Panferov is another guy who's been on before, losing to Torrez Finney a couple of years ago. He's okay but I think he's a bit of a can crusher on the New England scene. I think he might have an okay start in the fight but I expect him to be getting overwhelmed by the end. He might make it to the cards though.
Prediction - Ewert UD (gets contract)
Jimmy Drago (7-2) Vs Ty Miller (5-0) - Welterweight
Drago is okay, he's hits pretty hard but he does throw a little one at a time, he strikes me as a guy who's close to his ceiling already. Miller is a Fit NHB trained guy who I think is a little more raw but the bigger talent of the two and he seems better rounded. I think Drago could be dangerous in the first round because he hits hard and could well clip Miller but I think I like Miller to be too well rounded for him and finish him late.
Prediction - Miller R3 Sub (gets contract)
Radley Da Silva (7-1) Vs George Mangos (7-0) - Featherweight
This is pretty brutal matchmaking imo as both guys are really good and this could easily be a UFC fight. Radley is a super explosive athletic dude who can knock guys out with spectacular flying knees and spin kicks but he's also a very good positional grappler and presents a genuine sub threat. Mangos is much younger but is a very good boxer who puts on good pressure and also has really good BJJ. I do think Mangos will make it to the UFC at some point in the future but I think he's going to find Radley a little too explosive, strong and positionally smart for him.
Prediction - Da Silva R2 Sub (gets contract)
Ilian Bouafia (6-0) Vs Neemias Santana (7-2-1) - Middleweight
Not sure why they're overloading on 185 so much this episode but this is another good fight between guys I think could both be on the roster. Bouafia is the more technical guy of the two, a very pretty and smooth striker who fights well off the back foot generally. Santana is more of a hard hitting athletic fucker who will just march into the pocket and hit you as hard as he can while calling you a pussy as he does it. I think this is the hardest fight to call and it could go either way but I'll take Santana's relentless marching forward and aggression to eventually wear Bouafia down.
Prediction - Santana R3 KO (gets contract)
