UFC 248: The Fight Site Staff Predictions
The UFC’s 3rd PPV of the year features a title fight that came out of nowhere as a possibility; despite being edged in two consecutive fights, Yoel Romero was requested to fight for the belt by the new champion, Israel Adesanya, and he accepted that challenge. Regardless of the circumstances, including the real top-contender Paulo Costa being injured, the fight is one of the most intriguing in MMA on paper; both men are almost philosophically-opposed as fighters, as Romero’s sheer moment-to-moment danger can be contrasted to Adesanya’s patient attrition, and it likely makes for an extraordinarily tense contest.
The co-main-event features a far more traditionally set-up title fight; the new 115 champion, Weili Zhang, looks to defend her belt against an opponent on a two-win streak at the weight class (albeit with a loss at the higher one). Joanna Jedrzejczyk stormed back into relevancy with her domination of Michelle Waterson, and looks to stake her claim again as the greatest strawweight ever, against a dangerous champion who’d put away the marauding Jessica Andrade in about 40 seconds.
While the card is carried a bit by those two fights, they make it perfectly respectable in the whole; along with a few solid undercard fights covered here, UFC 248 is a fine (if top-heavy) offering. The Fight Site staff is here to break it all down.
Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero
Sriram: Adesanya’s title win over Robert Whittaker was tremendous, and this title shot for Yoel Romero doesn’t make a whole lot of sense without the context of Costa being out. This generally feels like it’s intended to be a showcase fight for Adesanya, even if I’m not as confident of his staying power on top of the division as some of our staff are.
There are certainly ways Romero could trouble him; Adesanya had dicey moments with the worse-schooled southpaw pressure boxing of Kelvin Gastelum (where Romero’s display of it against Luke Rockhold was terrific), he’s not as strong when he’s in the pocket as Robert Whittaker was, and Romero has generally been excellent at fighting the right fight even when he loses it, which combines with his absurd athleticism to make him a tough out for everyone he faces. That said, time waits for no man and actively rushes men in their 40s, and Yoel has never been the most consistent volume-threat; against Israel Adesanya, a deeply crafty and attritive fighter who stayed mostly safe even against the most impressive middleweight of recent times in Whittaker, trying to rely on moments without keeping up in volume seems almost a fool’s errand.
Romero could just come out early and put him in a pressure cooker, and that could work before Adesanya accumulates reads; however, Yoel likely concedes too many exchanges to stay viable late against a prolific feinter and body-kicker, and that’ll make the fight hard to pull back the way he has in the past. And if the durable Adesanya survives an early aggressive campaign, Romero’s gas tank will likely be too empty to win fights the way he usually does. I’d probably pick the frightening and tactically astute Romero of Whittaker 2 here, but as time passes, the chances are that Romero becomes too depreciated to implement a winning gameplan in a fight like this (even if he lands on the right answers). Adesanya via TKO4.
Danny: This is a great fight that doesn’t feel quite as great as it should. A lot of that comes from Yoel Romero, who appears to be on a physical and possibly technical decline. After nearly finishing Robert Whittaker in the 2018 Fight of the Year, Romero looked like an absolute terror for the rest of the division and the main guy to avoid if Israel Adesanya had any sense. Now things have shifted. It was a bit jarring to see one of the sport’s smartest and most astute fighters piss a winnable contest away against Paulo Costa. Romero (being Romero) still had an argument for winning that fight, but it was still a bad gameplan that he was able to make work with craft, output, and toughness. Any lesser of an athlete would’ve been caught out fighting the fight Romero fought versus Costa. If Ryan’s philosophy about Romero’s fight IQ is to be believed (trusting him to fight the right fight until he doesn’t), then Yoel’s performance at UFC 241 is a head-scratcher.
It’s always a gamble with Romero, in terms of what kind of gameplan he will show up with, but after considering this matchup for a long time, I don’t think it matters. Adesanya is the best fighter in the sport at playing with an opponent’s reactions, and if Romero’s gambit is to throw the first two frames of the fight away to find a read on his opponent, I doubt that approach is actually going to work here. Israel is a much better kicker than Whittaker on the outside, he is far more disciplined when it comes to picking his targets, and his ability to build offense over five rounds is tremendous. If he lacks Whittaker’s defensive depth in the pocket, he more than makes up for it with distance management and angular exits on the outside.
I was skeptical of Adesanya at nearly every turn on his rise, but after seeing him set the bar and then raise it time after time all the way to the very top, he has won me over. He is making a case as the best fighter in the world, and this is his fight to lose. Israel Adesanya via fifth round TKO.
Philippe : Awesome fight this should be. Israel Adesanya taking on Romero when he could avoid him is crazy. Not that Izzy cannot win this fight, but with Yoel there’s more than just winning this fight; it’s the damage you take and the destruction of your body (whittaker, Weidman, Rockhold). Israel should be the favorite here but it’s very hard to count out Romero. I wonder if we’re going to see Romero wrestle like he did in the first Whittaker fight or will he take that very slow approach where he just walks with his high guard letting punch him while he takes reads on you and then goes from 0 to 100 in a heartbeat. Adesanya’s takedown defense has been very good and I have no doubt that it’s going to be even better Saturday night.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Adesanya will style on Romero for a few rounds and I can see him stopping Romero early. I know it sounds crazy but if Romero can’t be taken out with a missile I think he can be overwhelmed by volume and accuracy. This is such an important fight for the division because it desperately needs some order and having a super active champion is the best thing for that chaotic division. But it’s middleweight we’re talking about, and I’m afraid in retrospect we will all agree that Izzy should have never taken that fight when (after looking the best he ever looked for 10/12 minutes) he is unconscious and stiff on the ground, destroyed by one of Romero’s only strikes. Yoel Romero by Knockout in round 3.
Mateusz: Adesanya vs Romero; let’s face it, despite the circumstances behind Romero getting this title shot (an arguably more deserving challenger, who he lost to, being injured and on the sidelines), this is one of the more intriguing fights scheduled by the UFC right now. Everything about the two fighters screams ‘opposites’- lanky and lean vs built like a muscular bulldozer; attritive, skilled striker vs hyper-explosive, overwhelming wrestler; chip-on-the-shoulder, insecure out of the cage vs unbelievable swagger and unshakable self-confidence. All excellent material for a classic match of styles. And yet, things are not so clear-cut when the cage closes. Israel is a systematic worker. Not for him are the wild swings and reckless collisions of MMA yore. He’ll methodically build a library of reactions and workable patterns before building. He won’t necessarily put a pace on his opponent - one strategy that is purportedly advisable against Romero - but he has shown a propensity to set a rhythm that can confound and tire his opponents out; this allows him to apply pain that belies his somewhat slim frame, and do damage to the ultra-tough operators of the likes of Gastelum and Whittaker that few could before.
The problem with Romero is, he’s about as enigmatic as a fighter can be, possibly even for his own training team and himself- it’s almost impossible to predict what he’ll do in there. If he’s as bizarrely inactive early like was in his second Whittaker fight, he may either get finished early or manage to draw just enough reads himself to perhaps sleep Israel early (I’d lean towards the former). If he brings the pressure boxing he showed against Luke Rockhold, he could pose Israel problems. If he brings the footwork he did to the Costa fight, he absolutely will not. However, if he brings the composure under fire and counters to the body that he showed in the Costa fight, he will also be a problem for Adesanya.
Israel usually prioritises head movement as defence, sometimes leaving his lead leg and body ripe for a ripping. Romero also suddenly brought out a throwaway, distracting jab against Costa; it will be VERY interesting to see what Israel does versus someone who wants to see how HE reacts to distraction too. That said, whatever version of Romero turns up, Israel has shown an adaptability and decision-making in-cage that suggests he might just be able to counter most things Romero does. Short of being cut in half by an unexpected Romero blast-double, his command of range, footwork and boxing craft, not to mention a genuine five-round gas tank, has me cautiously edging towards a wide-ish Israel wins by UD.
Ed: As laid out by my wonderful colleagues above, Izzy’s path is pretty clear. He should keep kicking range, feint to create openings, attack the body, kick straight, and avoid any extended sequences in the pocket. The huge question mark is, what will Yoel Romero do? It’s a question we have to ask before every fight, as the man has seemingly come out with a different gameplan each time.
My initial thought was the overall approach from Whittaker 2 might be effective. Hang back, be stingy defensively, force more committed entries, cover, parry and counter. It’s a strategy that could see Romero tanking a lot of damage early, depending on how well he adjusts to Izzy’s layered attack. It’s definitely a risky approach, but in terms of purely creating finishing opportunities, it’s likely his best look. The problem is I’m not sure Izzy would actually feel the pressure to enter very often, and those opportunities won’t come around nearly as often as they did against Robert Whittaker. In terms of wrestling, if Romero can draw Izzy in for those more committed entries, it opens up his reactive takedowns, which even magic-hips Robert Whittaker struggled to deal with. It’s not a gameplan I’d be confident in, but it’s valid.
A gameplan that could be far more effective Romero’s approach to Luke Rockhold. Against a rangy, dangerous kicker, Romero looked outstanding defensively from mid-range, neutering the powerful striker’s offense with educated pressure, heavy low kicks of his own, and smothering hand-fighting before exploiting his shaky backfoot game with murderous blitzes. Comparing Rockhold and Adesanya is extremely reductive, but the overall principles of the matchup for Romero remain. While Izzy certainly isn’t bad moving backward, he does tend to concede a lot of ground with linear retreats and often puts himself out of position to deal with more dynamic adjustments mid-flurry. In short, what Adesanya sees, he can deal with fairly comfortably. It’s the awkward, athletic blitzes that have troubled him, that’s what we saw against Kelvin Gastelum. Many have pointed out the availability of body shots when Izzy leans back on the retreat, but I’m not isolating that as a major factor for Romero, although kicking on the retreat could be an excellent weapon from Romero in this scenario. If wrestling is going to be an important tool for Romero, I believe the Rockhold gameplan is instrumental in making that happen. The two major effective takedown entries for Yoel have been reactive shots, and shots against the cage off athletic blitzes. If there is any approach that will open up the latter, it’s the form of Romero with the most effective pressure and swarming tactics we’ve seen yet. In a more abstract sense, wrestling will be in play for Yoel’s pressure game - he’ll likely fight the hands, collapse exchanges off the collar ties, and maybe change levels. I don’t feel that wrestling in open space will work for Romero with no ancillary striking setup, the approach he takes on the feet will be crucial. Theoretically, if Romero does follow the Rockhold gameplan, he’s already got a winning fight available on the feet, wrestling would just be another (available) layer in his performance. Maybe Izzy just does him like Rob off the blitzes, but it’s equally likely that Yoel just eats backstepping counters like nothing and finds his offense anyway.
My biggest hangup is Romero’s unpredictability. Outside of the Paulo Costa fight, he’s approached most opponents intelligently. But can we be sure that is on purpose? Is he making these reads in-fight and working it out from there, or is there a plan coming in? Without an applied strategy, I have little faith. If he wastes time without working toward creating winning opportunities, it’s likely that Izzy breaks him down over five. Maybe Romero’s age just catches up to him and he looks bad. Based on nothing, I’m going to trust that Yoel comes in energized with good ideas and gets it done. Yoel Romero, Round 3 KO/TKO.
Ben: It’s weird for a Romero fight to not have some shenanigans surrounding it, so this is pretty normal. Yoel is still, somehow, an absolute physical freak with a penchant for ridiculous bursts of violence. The question is if he will be able to apply that against Adesanya. As Romero’s wars pile up and he ages, I have a strong feeling we will soon see him slipping athletically. However, I don’t think that translates to a finish here. The more I mull this over, the more I think we will be somewhat disappointed in this fight. Hear me out.
The smartest gameplan for Romero would be to pressure Izzy, not in bursts of offense, but consistent pressure. Feints, cutting the cage, sweeping shots when Izzy tries to work his way off, and occasionally mixing in takedowns to keep Izzy honest on the feet as well. The problem is that the last time we saw something like that from Romero was….Rockhold? And it took him 3 rounds to do it against a less durable, more defensively liable striker than Izzy as well. Izzy himself has shown issues against pressure in the past, but he’s far more capable of handling it than Rockhold was. So for me, I see Izzy taking the smartest approach possible, limiting the exchanges with Romero as best as he can. There will be bursts from Romero which will likely make rather tame rounds seem more exciting then they really are, but I think Romero, at this point, won’t be able to make those big moments matter in the long run.
Izzy will work his rangy and dextrous kicking game for the better part of five rounds, and I think round 3 Romero will be unable to make an appearance to stop it. Izzy by Unanimous, body kick heavy, Decision.
Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Danny: TFS staff writer and our friend, Julian Lung, has put together an extensive video analysis on this fight, so anybody interested in this fight should defer to that. I digress, this is a strange and difficult contest to call. I’m still not sure exactly how much to draw from JJ’s recent struggles, but I’d argue she is physically declining somewhat steadily and hasn’t shown much evolution within her style. Against slow plodders, Joanna’s volume is easily applied and maintained, but when opponents simply measure their distance a bit more carefully before stepping in, JJ becomes far more anxious. On the other hand, I enjoyed Zhang cleaning Andrade’s clock very much, but it doesn’t tell us a whole lot. The question from Zhang remains: Is she a truly elite talent in the division who blossomed at the perfect time or is she a right-place-right-time sort of contender?
Both women are fairly twitchy in response to feints, but Zhang is a superior kicker on the outside, both countering step-ins and in terms of variety. Joanna’s clinch looked strangely haphazard against Waterson, whilst Zhang snapped Andrade in half on the inside. Finally, I’ve never been impressed with JJ’s output when she’s forced to come forward and she’s never been good in exchanges. Zhang doesn’t do anything particularly scientific inside, but she has good eyes, remains composed, and is a far more potent puncher. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Joanna do her thing, but enough physical cracks and technical gaps are making themselves heard that, similar to the main event, it feels as though the window has closed on the long-time divisional presence. Weili Zhang via second round TKO.
Sriram: Weili Zhang has come from nowhere as a champion, really because the UFC wanted a Chinese title-contender very badly, and she overperformed against the durable Jessica Andrade by simply dumpstering her in a single minute. Given that her only other win near the “elite” (and that’s used lightly with Andrade as well) is Tecia Torres, it’s somewhat hard to know what to make of her, but given those fights, she’s a solid kicker who can punch for W115 and has a functional clinch. Joanna is one of the better clinchers in MMA, period, and a strong outside operator, with a decent volume advantage both in the boxing (although she’s not great at it past the jab) and the kicking, but I question whether she can make this work at any range with the distinct firepower disparity she’ll have to work with against a champion far more astute than Andrade. I guess I’ll default to the more tested quantity who’s more trustworthy over distance and pick Jedrzejczyk by UD, but it’s a fight I don’t have a particularly strong read on.
Julian: Thank Danny & Sriram for the plug. But like Sriram said, Zhang is a relative unknown and a win over Torres isn’t something I usually give a lot of credit too. After talking with Danny for a bit, I think it’ll be a huge growth test for Zhang if she wants to beat Joanna. Zhang is the better kick power for power and speed, but she has really poor setups apart from pairing the jab with the inside low kick. Her lead leg side kick is easy to punish especially if Joanna circles off and comes back in and Zhang tends to get her legs chewed up after throwing a naked kick. I don’t think Joanna will really punch her off missed kicks, but I think it’ll be the Waterson fight but higher stakes. Joanna has a set game plan made for her in Zhang and Waterson was the best fight to take before Zhang. While I think it would be great if Zhang came out with a connected lead kicking game with boxing combinations, I just don’t see her making those improvements in her recent fights. But where Zhang HAS improved is her clinch game, against Aguilar she literally took knees to the body before she got the takedown and against Taylor she started to pick up the aggression there. Still, she tends to give up wrist control and keep her head straight up in the clinch, which Joanna can forearm off and head pin for easy knees.
Also, I don’t think Zhang has the cardio to do five rounds versus Joanna, she was sucking air after the Taylor fight and Torres never pushed her on the cardio. But hyper-athletic clinch takedowns and clinching is not a good style for someone with poor cardio. Think it’ll be Joanna by 5 round decision. I think this is really high risk for Joanna because Zhang can smash her like Gadehla but Zhang can actually hit.
Philippe : I’m a big fan of Joanna’s fighting style and I do appreciate Zhang too. When she made her UFC debut I thought that with the right match up she could climb the rankings pretty quickly. I didn’t think it would be that quick. And this is one of my main concerns for the champion. I wish she’d have that loss or that tough fight against a good striker where she learned something. Her best wins (Andrade and Torres) are the opposite of Joanna.
Even though Zhang showed how strong she is, and she seems to be a powerful kicker (which could be a good thing for her in this matchup), and even if she seems to hit pretty hard, I just don’t see how she’s gonna deal with Joanna’s distance and jab. The champion may have a few ideas on how to close the distance but I’m afraid Joanna will read that very quickly (she can either counter or get the clinch and do some work on the champion) and the longer the fight goes the better she’ll get.
That’s why to me it’s either Zhang inside 1 round or Joanna by UD. Joanna’s cardio should be on point as always and she’ll dictate the pace. I liked Joanna’s last fight with Waterson a lot. It gave me more confidence in picking her to win this fight. Hopefully Joanna gets her belt back, Rose destroys Andrade and we get to see Joanna vs Rose III later this year. Joanna by Unanimous Decision.
Mateusz: I won’t pretend I’m an expert on Zhang Weili. While she is an exciting, dynamic addition to the women’s strawweight narrative, she also rose to the title without really having to face any of strawweight’s premiere technicians. Her win against Andrade taught us very little. What it did demonstrate is she is willing to throw heat from close range with a powerful hitter, and apparently has some very nice clinch tools; her elbows and knees in a loose clinch proved decisive against the former champion. However, her opponent, the spikey and vicious Joanna Jedrzejczyk, is THE premiere clinch operator in women’s MMA, and is up there with the best overall; her framing, positioning, knees and elbows on exit are likely a level above anything Zhang has come across before. One worry for Jedrzejczyk of late has been a problem finding range, especially with her kicks - against Rose Namajunas the first time, and Valentina Shevchenko, she notably fell short on kicks from the outside, and looked deflated in comprehensive losses.
However, both Rose and Valentina are adept outside fighters who are very capable of dictating range. Jedrzejczyk is much more comfortable when her opponent comes to her, something Zhang is likely to do. Not only that, as far as I can tell Zhang has shown little interest in varying her speed of attack, covering her chin while wildly throwing, or not finding herself out of position when her blitz is complete. Jedrzejczyk’s footwork off the back foot has been known to be superb, and consistent; she is unlikely to be found out of position, especially as a fight builds and her read of her opponent gets ever more set. She is also an accurate if not terribly powerful puncher, and will likely find spots to land on Zhang as she brings herself into range. Having said that, Jedrzejczyk is also known to ship big punches early, and Zhang IS powerful, so an early stoppage would not shock me. However, aside from one notable occasion against Rose, Joanna has shown the ability to recover extremely well from a good bell-ringer, so I’m banking on a relatively wide UD here, in favour of Jedrzejczyk.
Ben: Glad I get to side with Danny here. Joanna’s a known commodity at this point, especially compared to Zhang. My thoughts here are simple, we have an aging former champ who’s durability is questionable at this point, and struggles against punchers who can counter her rote combinations with their own, against someone who can do that. Zhang is not the most technical fighter by any means, but she’s functional, a much better athlete, is strong, and has good instincts as well.
Joanna by UD is the safer choice, no doubt, due to her experience and resume, but I don’t see it mattering much. Zhang is going to be able to kick with Joanna on the outside, something that will likely force Joanna to enter into punching exchanges with Zhang. Once Joanna’s forced to do that, she will get cracked and either go down or get cowed. Her safety blanket is the clinch, and I don’t know how safe she will be there. As Danny mentioned, Joanna’s clinch didn’t look great in the Waterson fight, and Zhang is more effective there by a good margin just due to her strength alone. Joanna does not like being bullied, and I see that happening here. Zhang via KO round 2.
Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
Danny: I don’t like Klose’s game at all, but he is an aggressive, hard-nosed grinder who can make any fight ugly. Beneil Dariush is the premier overachiever in the UFC, with unremarkable athleticism, a weak chin, and a questionable ability to keep pace. It is a testament to his budget RDA routine and underrated submission game that he has been able to net some surprisingly decent wins recently (particularly over Drew Dober). I’m still not sure Klose can’t just be diffused by a competent outside striker, since he looked utterly dreadful at closing down David(!) Teymur(!), but Dariush’s lack of baseline physicality is genuinely hard to trust against anybody up the ladder at lightweight. To hell with it. It really is a shame this card got axed so badly, because as much as I like Dariush, he shouldn’t be on the main card of an Israel Adesanya/Yoel Romero PPV. Drakkar Klose via Unanimous Decision.
Sriram: As should be well-known, Beneil Dariush is the best-kept secret of 155; with a sneaky-great resume and a legitimately impressive southpaw kick/counterpunch skillset that is betrayed largely by his lack of athleticism and declining durability, Dariush’s squeaky-clean win over the gritty Frank Camacho suggested that it takes either pure athlete-aggression or a level of craft to make his flaws matter even at this stage of his career. While Klose isn’t “outclassed” by he of the long back, it seems like a bad fight for him; Dariush is an elite-grappler who’s going to be hard to purely stifle with wrestling, Klose being orthodox opens him to Beneil’s usual game and not being a puncher reduces the likelihood of randomly Hernandezing him, and the last outside southpaw-kicker Klose faced (David Teymur) visibly frustrated the hell out of him by just moving around and not allowing Klose to get his game going in-close.
Is it possible that Dariush hit his ultimate sell-by some time after Camacho? Sure, as even considering the inspiring comeback against Dober, Dariush can’t necessarily be trusted in a grinding and high-paced fight. Even with his formidable skills, the door has certainly closed on him as a contender. Despite the trap-bet feel with any Dariush fight where he’s more skilled these days, though, Klose is as forgiving a fight for Camacho-form Dariush as one can credibly find. Dariush by SUB3.
Julian: I don’t really know much about either and the only time I cared about Dariush, he got killed by Hernandez. RIP flat butt RDA.
Philippe: Drakkar dominates the first round (without doing much damage) then get clubbed-and-subbed by Sriram’s hero. Beneil Dariush by submission round 2.
Ryan: Klose isn’t extremely impressive anywhere, but he’s also not terribly unimpressive anywhere. He’s a fine generalist with a generally smart tactical mind, even though he lacks the depth of skill required to use any of them consistently at a high level. Dariush is a crafty southpaw technician with a strong top game, but his athleticism is clearly in decline. Klose is solid in the clinch, relatively sound positionally and smart about finding opportunities to strike. It’s not hard to see him giving Dariush some of the issues that Evan Dunham did and dragging him into an ugly clinch battle. He should be at a fairly pronounced disadvantage at range though, and the southpaw stance likely hurts him as I don’t see him having the craft to land his trademark leg kicks to the inside, or to box his way in with the increased distance. Dariush might struggle a bit in the clinch, but he should take a relatively safe decision. Dariush via UD
Ben: Klose is someone who thrives in grinding fights, as he’s just good at MMA with no specialties. Dariush however is, and Klose is not the type of guy who historically beats Dariush. Aside from the weird Dunham draw, Dariush loses by flash KO’s or the quick sub by Chiesa. Grinders are not the type of guy he struggles with, because he’s able to impose his unathletic Cordeiro game on his opponents. We’ve also seen Klose be put in bad spots, and controlled, by far less potent grapplers than Dariush. I think we see Dariush working his pressure game pretty well here before we see a takedown attempt against the cage, and a transition to the back. Dariush by Sub round 2.
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Deron Winn
Sriram: Best fight of the year. I will only take this seriously for one sentence, and that is this one: all Meerschaert did until hilariously boxing up Eryk Anders was grapple and bodykick, and Winn’s bad top-game and mentor (respectively) makes it hard to trust him to deal with those. The best meme booking in many years, budget-Rockhold over pocket-Cormier. Meerschaert via TKO2.
Danny: Deron Winn is the single most hilarious physiological specimen in the sport of MMA. My man is a 5’6” middleweight. He looks like a juiced up munchkin. I respect it. Deron Winn via first round TKO.
Julian: Winn by TKO R 1. He thicc, he smol, and he slam men on their heads. He’s an exaggerated DC without any of the striking.
Philippe: one of those fights where I don’t have interest in either fighter. May the first man to punch the body win the fight.
Mateusz: my much more learned colleagues are hinting this is going to be the meme that Lewis-Latifi should have rightfully been, and in these sorts of fights, the smol boi is always my pick: Winn by hilarious KO2
Ryan: Don’t really know or care much about either guy. Meerschaert SUB 2 for the memes
Ben: I respect a 5’6 MW, regardless of skill level. Meerschaert is fun as hell in all the best MW ways, and Winn is a budget DC in a lot of ways. I’ll pick budget DC by UD. Finishing Meerschaert by strikes is kind of really difficult to do, and Winn is not a guy I’d put on the level of Thiago Santos in terms of finishing ability. Winn by Unanimous MW Decision.