Fight Island 6: Ortega vs Zombie Predictions

Source: Woohae Cho/Zuffa LLC

It's been quite the last few months with the UFC and their "beefy" matchups, but maybe none of those beefs has been as tense for so long and still fly under the radar as much as Ortega and Zombie has. Look at the optics here, Ortega literally slapped a guy for simply translating Zombie's trash talk. It begs the question, is Brian Ortega a crazy man? I don't know, and more importantly I don't care, this is gonna be a fantastic fight!

Brian Ortega vs Korean Zombie

It's a shame that Jung got put on the Yair highlight reel because that's usually what people point to when they think of his recent fights, but back-to-back knockout wins over Moicano and Edgar has him flying high coming into this one. But this fight is personal, and personally I like Ortega, but he's coming into this fight as the bad for the first time in his career, how that affects him mentally will be interesting to see.

This is a fight that could play out eerily similar to Ortega's fight with Holloway. Obviously, that's not good news for T-City but it's great news for us. On the feet the advantage has to go to Zombie. His ability to throw power from any stance and in any circumstance makes him lethal, and on top of that, Ortega's propensity to be offensive all the time will almost certainly put him in a position to be hit often.

I would not be surprised if this bout ended up on the shortlist for Fight of the Year. I guaranteed that Adesanya and Costa would be bloody and that was a flop, but I GUARANTEE this fight raises your heart rate a few notches!

Prediction: Korean Zombie, 2nd RD TKO

Jessica Andrade vs Katlyn Chookagian

Andrade is moving up in weight against a taller, longer fighter, but that's pretty much every fight for the former champ. But the differences in measurables between her and Chookagian are quite extensive, however, the way Chookagian fights it won't matter. Andrade is a battering ram that has sneaky range control and an underrated wrestling game, it's a tough matchup for KC.

I firmly believe that if Chookagian can get Andrade to the ground then it will change this fights outlook drastically, but that really is the biggest question mark for her. I expect Andrade to push the pace, and push KC to the brink, she'll just have to get off to a better start than she did against Rose.

Prediction: Jessica Andrade, Decision

Modestas Bukauskas vs Jimmy Crute

I almost completely overlooked this fight and I don't know why because I actually really like both of these guys. Crute is an up-and-comer straight from the Dana White Contender Series and Bukauskas is a crafty, patient striker. Can Crute impose his will on The Baltic Warrior? I honestly don't know. I think Bukauskas may surprise some folks here.

Prediction: Modestas Bukauskas, 2nd RD TKO

James Krause vs Cláudio Silva

This is a weird fight. Short notice for Krause, Silva is coming in red-hot, fairly similar resumes but I'm just not sure how it will play out. I think I lean towards Krause because I know what I'll get, I like consistency and Krause is consistent. If Silva can keep Krause going backwards then things should go in his favour, I just don't know if that's how it plays out.

Prediction: James Krause, Decision

Thomas Almeida vs. Jonathan Martinez

There was a point in time when Thomas Almeida was truly a star, and I get it's been a rough past few years him, but this is a nice bounce back spot for him to return to form. Martinez is a good fighter, but he's had trouble against lesser talent than Almeida before. MMA math never adds up but where there's smoke there's fire (I'm grasping at straws here).

Prediction: Thomas Almeida, Decision

Rest of the Card

Garmot def Kutateladze

Robertson def Botelho

Park def Phillips

Ziam def Mullarkey

Grishin def Antigulov

Nurmagomedov def Striegl

2020 Predictions Record: 148 - 96 - 3