UFC 245

The last PPV UFC event of the year is finally here delivering an absolutely stacked card. The main card will feature three title fights, headlined by the highly anticipated match up between Usman and Covington. In the Co-Main Event, Max Holloway will defend his featherweight belt versus the up and coming Volkanovski. Amanda Nunes will look to continue her dominance in the women’s bantamweight division as she takes on Germaine De Randamie for the second time in her career.

UFC 245 will take place on December 14, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Scroll below to see the UFC 245 fight breakdown and predictions.

Welterweight Title Fight

Kamaru Usman [15 – 1 – 0] (-190) vs Colby Covington [15 – 1 – 0] (+155)

15 – 1 versus 15 – 1. Champ versus Interim Champ. The main event of the night pits two grind-it-out wrestlers with endless gas tanks in a headfirst collision for the belt. This fight can go either way.

Covington (15 – 1, 10 – 1 in the UFC) is coming off of a decision victory over Robbie Lawler in August. Other notable decision wins by Covington: a decision victory over Rafael Dos Anjos for the interim belt in June 2018; a decision victory over Demian Maia in October 2017. Colby may not be delivering finishes, but his last three fights have all resulted in unanimous decision victories. He is consistent.

Usman (15 – 1, 10 – 0 in the UFC) is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Tyron Woodley in March, where Usman secured the Welterweight belt. Usman also has secured unanimous decision wins over Dos Anjos (November 2018) and Maia (May 2018).

These two fighters have walked a similar path, while delivering similar results, to get to this fight. This will be one tough fight, but the underdog will deliver the upset with a 5-round decision victory over Usman by utilizing his unlimited stamina and a slight edge on his feet. 

Prediction: Covington

Featherweight Title Fight

Max Holloway [21 – 4 – 0] (-175) vs Alexander Volkanovski [20 – 1 – 0] (+145)

Max Holloway is 14 – 1 in his last 15 fights, all of which have been against top-tier competitors worthy of title contention. Max is coming into this fight fresh off a dominant decision win against a game Frankie Edgar. He also has one of the most impressive resumes in the UFC roster with wins over Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, and many more. This guy is the king of the 145-lb division for a reason.

Alexander is as real as any title contender could be in this division. With recent wins over Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, and Darren Elkins, Volkanovski has a current record of 20-1. His only loss comes by way of TKO 6 years ago - before he was fighting in the UFC.

Ultimately, Max’s championship experience combined with his extensive resume is the deciding factor in this match up. There is no doubt that Volkanovski deserves this title shot, and he very well could be the champion at 145, but it won’t be happening on 12/14. Max is simply on a level above Alexander, as well as everyone else in the division. ‘Blessed’ gets it done in a stand up battle between two guys who love to stand and trade.

Prediction: Holloway

Women Bantamweight

Amanda Nunes [18 – 4 – 0] (-300) vs Germaine De Randamie [9 – 3 – 0] (+255)

Chalk this up as the 10th W in a row and 4th TKO/KO in a row for The Lioness. Riding a 5-fight win streak, Germaine De Randamie will be stepping up against Nunes for the second time in her career. Germaine fell to Nunes by way of TKO (from a barrage of vicious elbows) in the third round back in November of 2013. Sure, Germaine has improved since then, winning every fight since her 2013 loss; but since that time, Nunes has developed into the best female MMA fighter of all time! Germaine’s most impressive win thus far has been a unanimous decision victory over Holly Holm. Nunes flat lined Holly last July. Nunes seems unstoppable at this point in her career and it is unlikely to say Germaine De Randamie will be the one to dethrone her.

Prediction: Nunes

Bantamweight

Marlon Moraes [22 – 6 – 1] (-200) vs Jose Aldo [28 – 5 – 0] (+160)

The #1 contender welcomes the legendary Jose Aldo to the 135-lb division. Both fighters are coming off loses to very tough opponents. Moraes lost to Cejudo, where he was stopped in the third round. Aldo fell to Alexander Volkanovski in a three-round decision.

Aldo is 2 – 3 in his last 5 fights (all of which were against top-tier opponents) while Moraes was riding a 4-win fight streak until Triple-C ended his run.

Both fighters are veterans and if this matchup were happening 5 years ago, you would have bet the house on Aldo. However, due to Moraes’ recent fight success, Aldo’s recent struggles, and the fact that Aldo will be cutting an additional 10 pounds for this fight compared to his usual fight weight, it is safe to go with the favorite on this one. 

Prediction: Moraes

Bantamweight

Petr Yan [13 – 1 – 0] (-500) vs Urijah Faber [35 – 10 – 0] (+350)

The opening fight of the main event, on the biggest card of the year – Yan versus Faber. Yan opened at a -500 favorite when the card was announced. This should come as no surprise as the #4 contender is set to take on Faber who is currently ranked #12 in the division. Yan is undefeated in all 5 of his UFC fights and is currently riding an 8-fight win streak. His only loss came by split decision in 2016. After some time away from the octagon, Faber enters this matchup coming off of a very impressive first round TKO over a tough Ricky Simon – Faber’s first stoppage by KO or TKO since January of 2007!

This is a hard fight to bet on. The obvious move would be to lean toward a victory for the up and coming Yan, but at -500 it would be best to stay away from the favorite and maybe take a low dollar risk on Faber.

Prediction: Yan

Welterweight

Geoff Neal [12-2-0] (-265) vs Mike Perry [13-5-0] (+205)

The #14 ranked Geoff Neal is an up and coming prospect that won his UFC contract in Dana White’s Contender series via first round TKO. He has since compiled a 4 – 0 record in the UFC, beating an extremely tough Niko Price and the UFC’s Belal Muhammad. Neal’s last loss was in 2017, before having entered the UFC, against Kevin Holland via TKO; it’s worth noting that Kevin Holland is now in the UFC as well.

Perry is coming off a split decision loss where he suffered one of the most vicious broken noses in the history of the sport. It is quite shocking that he is able to fight just 5 months after such an injury. In his last 4 fights, Perry has split his matchups 2 – 2, with 2 impressive wins over Paul Felder and Alex Oliveira (both wins coming via decision). Geoff Neal puts a stop to Perry’s hype train utilizing his technical striking against Perry’s wild style.

Prediction: Neal 

Women’s Bantamweight

Ketlen Vieira [10-0-0] (-165) vs Irene Aldana [11-5-0] (+135)

The #10 ranked Irene Aldana is 4 – 3 since joining the UFC, with loses to Raquel Pennington, Katlyn Chookagain, and Leslie Smith. Her most impressive victory has been her armbar submission versus Bethe Correia. Her other 3 UFC victories have been by way of decision.

The #2 ranked Vieira is likely next in line to face Amanda Nunes should she secure a decisive victory in this fight. She has been impressive thus far in the UFC, winning all 4 of her fights (10 – 0 overall). Vieira will get the victory and further the argument that she be the division’s next title contender.

Prediction: Vieira

Welterweight

Matt Brown [21 – 16 – 0] (-360) vs Ben Saunders [22 – 12 – 2] (+270)

Matt Brown is coming into this fight after a nasty KO victory over Diego Sanchez that snapped his 3-fight losing streak. Brown has fought the best the league has to offer during his 24 UFC fights. This will be Brown’s first time back in the cage in 25 months, but “ring rust” will not be an issue for this veteran.

Saunders is currently riding a 3-loss fight streak, going 1 – 5 in his last 6 fights. Ben has also been far more active in the fight game as of late than his opponent, having fought 5 times since Brown’s last fight.

Both of these fighters are true UFC veterans with great careers inside of the octagon. If Saunders were to pull off the upset, it would result in his most accomplished victory to date. However, Brown will likely get the win, having a track record against more high-caliber fighters than Saunders. 

Prediction: Brown