The Bloody Elbow team has filed its forecasts for UFC 231, and while everyone who wrote something up picked Max Holloway over Brian Ortega, overall opinion is rather divided. In terms of the co-main event, things are split as to who will prevail involving Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valentina Shevchenko. It is good to have toss-up title conflicts like these two, isn’t it?
Notice: Predictions are entered during the week and collected the day prior to the event. Explanations behind every pick are not required and some authors elect to not do so for their own motives. By way of example, if Phil Mackenzie entered all his predictions on Wednesday without incorporating in any explanationshe has no idea if he’s likely to be the only one siding with one fighter for any given fight.
Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega
Anton Tabuena: This is fairly straightforward to me. With any bizarre health issues, Max Holloway should completely run through Ortega here. Holloway is just much better and a lot more dangerous than the rest of the people Ortega has beaten. This is clearly still MMA and Ortega has proven that he has adequate power, but he definitely will not pick apart someone as technically adept as Holloway. I believe this will seem a good deal like Ortega’s past spells, but he’ll have a much worse beating and won’t be able to secure that magic comeback. Max Holloway by TKO.
Mookie Alexander: There is a level of unsustainability into Ortega’s love of completing fights over winning rounds, and Holloway is a masterful round winner. I’m obviously assuming we’re getting the best version of Max Holloway, so that is the secret here. Ortega has increased tremendously as a striker, but up until this point, Holloway has proven a ridiculous chin and he is probably not the person who you want to take part in a high-paced brawl with. Ortega enjoys the jumping guillotine, I suspect Holloway is going to be prepared for that, and he’s a damn great grappler in his own right. Takedowns are improbable on both sides, and Ortega specifically has revealed himself to be not especially good at shooting down his opponents in the first place. While Ortega is very dangerous predicated on what we’ve seen out of him lately conflicts, I still trust Holloway to do more damage and prevent the classic Ortega comeback. Max Holloway by conclusion.
Zane Simon: Ortega’s fight against Frankie Edgar was something of a sin. He’s always been tricky, always been reckless, but that was the very first time his striking style – assembled around a lot slicker moves and often a lack of basic ones – has looked like a whole game. He worked behind the jab, feinted, drew out predictable responses and shifted up his entrances to club Frankie to unconsciousness. It was damn pretty. It also suggests that it’s difficult to say how much more advanced Ortega might be now. Without seeing more consistency and variety to his game, and without seeing an ability to keep output over multiple hard hitting rounds, I need to select Holloway. His ability to push a speed then to up that rate because his opponents tire, his ability to modify aims in combination and start up new combinations off sooner, simpler ones, just are not abilities that Ortega has shown yet. And Ortega still has a background of dropping rounds he hasn’t completed the fight in. Even with Max’s health scare, most of the questions are on Ortega’s side and most of the replies are around Holloway’s. Max Holloway by choice.
Victor Rodriguez: Neither guy is going to be seeking to take the other down, and Holloway’s clinch match is lethal. Having said that, Ortega’s been a man I’ve counted out in a lot of struggles, I just feel dumb picking him against him. He ought to have a range drawback and Max’s frenetic pace must make this difficult for him due to quantity, but Ortega does not get hit that much and appears to keep finding ways to pull a rabbit out of his hat. I want to select Ortega by diving to get a flying armbar in the clinch scenario, but that’s a small reckless for me personally. And while I am still worried about the fact that we don’t know what health issues Holloway had time, it would appear that the guy that wears harm well and has a more comprehensive and written approach to his attacks should be able to take over as the fight goes on and employ pressure accordingly. Max Holloway by decision.