Prepare for the fists to fly at Featherweight between the #2 and #10 ranked contenders. 

Lopes lost his first title shot to Volk in April, but took the bout to five rounds and showed why he’s the leading contender in the division. Volk was Lopes’ first loss since the Brazilian’s debut at UFC 288 in 2023 against Mover Evloev–a fight he took on short notice. 

Silva has had an impeccable year in the UFC since his debut in June 2024, with three TKOs and, most recently, a win by submission over Bryce Mitchell heading into this fight. Silva is member of the “Fighting Nerds” team helmed by Caio Borralho, and if “Lord” Silva’s performance against Lopes is as strong as his teammate Carlos “The Nightmare” Prates’ most recent showing against Geoff Neal–a highlight-reel-worthy spinning back elbow–Lopes needs to watch his chin. 

Oddmakers see “Revenge of the [Fighting] Nerds” playing out in the Octagon, but I think Lopes is underrated here considering his TKO power, the quality of his jiu-jitsu, and ability to go the distance. While both men will be looking for the finish, Lopes has already proven he can handle championship rounds if things made it that far–meanwhile, we’ve yet to see Silva have to work past a second round. 

👊🏻Diego Lopes Key Stats:

3.7 Sig. Strikes Landed/minute

4.76 Sig. Strikes Absorbed/minute

46% Sig. Strike Defense

67% TDD

40% TD Accuracy

👊🏻Jean “Lord” Silva Key Stats:

4.87 Sig. Strikes Landed/minute

4.13 Sig. Strikes Absorbed/minute

56% Sig. Strike Defense

86% TDD

50% TD Accuracy

Vegas Odds: Lopes (+210), Silva (-250)

E.M. Dash’s Pick: Diego Lopes
Man Alive’s Pick: Jean Silva - Lopes doesn’t move his head and moves too linearly when pressuring. 🤺

This Bantamweight battle has shifted on fairly short notice: Font was originally scheduled to face Raul Rosas Jr., who was forced to withdraw due to a rib injury. 

In Rosas’ place, and looking to snap Font’s two-fight win streak (along with some punches in the process) is David Martinez: orthopedic surgeon by day and UFC fighter by noche.

Font has been a standby in the Octagon since 2014, and in his last fight in February, he took the formerly-undefeated Jean Matsumodo to a controversial decision. Meanwhile, Martinez turned heads with his Round 1 TKO in his debut against Saimon Oliveira back in March.

This should be a fight of youth versus experience between two talented strikers: Martinez has youth, energy, and roughly a decade less of damage on his body in his favor. He’s also got guts: “Black Spartan”’s initial opponent for UFC Noche, Quang Le, was a far less tested contender than Font. Font has over a decade of reps in the Octagon and matchups against some of the division’s biggest stars on his resume. 

When it comes to skills–medical puns intended–Martinez will have to put on a clinical performance to get the better of Font. If Font wins, here’s hoping the surgeon can call out of the OR on Monday morning. 

👊🏻Rob Font Key Stats:

5.49 Sig. Strikes Landed/minute

3.67 Sig. Strikes Absorbed/minute

57% Sig. Strike Defense

42% TDD

34% TD Accuracy

👊🏻David “Black Spartan” Martinez Key Stats:

5.40 Sig. Strikes Landed/minute

2.70 Sig. Strikes Absorbed/minute

67% Sig. Strike Defense

100% TDD

0% TD Accuracy

Vegas Odds: Font (-170), Martinez (+145)

E.M.Dash’s  Pick: Rob Font
Man Alive's Pick: Font. The book says he wins 6.3 out of 10 fights against Martinez. I agree, especially with Martinez on short notice.

Kelvin Gastulum is always a curious watch because you never know which Kelvin is coming to the arena. If pressure punching, forward moving, rolling defense Kelvin shows up I expect him to handle Stoltfus. I would also keep an eye on the general decline in Kelvin’s skill set. He’s not that old by middleweight standards but he’s been in the game a minute, taken a good amount of damage, and has had weight issues at times. That stuff shortens a fight career.

I always tune in to watch Tatiana Suarez fight. She’s overcome a neck injury that ended her wrestling career and thyroid cancer, gotta root for that. She’s easily the best pure wrestler in the female divisions but she gassed and was ultimately outclassed by Weili her last time out. She’s had seven months to fix those problems, if she has I think she dominates Lemos with grappling.