FIGHT FORECASTER: UGP 43 PREDICTIONS

MAIN EVENT
UNION GP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
© GAUGE LATTIMORE vs #2 BILLY TWEEDS

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Gauge Lattimore by Decision — This fight feels like it could be a potential trap matchup for the new heavyweight champion. He’s the main event in his hometown, making his first title defense against a man many did not expect to see in this slot, at this point in time anyway. Lattimore is more known for his relentless cardio and high volume striking than he is with straight knockout power. That being said, there is always that lingering threat of a flash KO coming from Billy Tweeds. He could very well be down four rounds and losing a fifth before the power of Mjölnir jolts through his hands and ends a title reign in the blink of an eye. Lattimore though has a lot of experience, so that could counteract that threat, as long as he can stay vigilant for twenty-five minutes.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Gauge Lattimore by TKO, Round 3 — Billy’s a wicked fighter, he’s strong as an ox, and if he hits you, you feel it. Just look at his career stats, only a few fights have made it past the first couple minutes of the fight. But he also leaves his chin up and gets hit, and someone like Gauge is going to take advantage of every opportunity he has to hit you. I don’t see that exchange going well for Billy. I think we’ll see a couple rounds of rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots, before Gauge puts the hammer down.

CO-MAIN EVENT
UNION GP MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
© LOVELIE SAINT-CYR vs #1 NOAH VANDERKAAY

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Lovelie Saint-Cyr by Decision — I absolutely love this matchup. I think it has the potential to not only be a fight of the night candidate, but a fight of the year candidate. LSC is riding a four fight win streak ever since dropping down to Middleweight after the cessation of the Cruiserweight Division, and in his last two he’s beaten current and future Hall of Famers Byron McCall and Travis Decker. Now, Vanderkaay is spearheading the new wave of talent in the Middleweight division and has been unchallenged in ten pro fights. However, he’s yet to fight a man as tough as LSC, so the unknown factor from both sides adds so much intrigue to the already massive stakes at hand.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Noah Vanderkaay by Decision — This is my favorite fight on the card by a long ways. Middleweight-LSC has been a beast, he’s been getting even better than he already was–which is a scary prospect for the 185 lb division. But, I’ve said numerous times that I think Noah Vanderkaay is the brightest prospect in any division in Union, and something tells me this weekend, he caps off what’s been a virtually flawless run. It’s honestly extremely hard to pick against LSC, he’s so good at everything he does–but the thing about this fight for me, there’s nowhere that LSC is good, that Noah isn’t, and I’ve  just got a feeling we’ll see a new champ crowned in a razor thin decision.

UNION GP LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT
#3 ABBIE PETERSON vs #4 SILVIO GOTTI JR.

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Abbie Peterson by 2nd Round T/KO — There’s a lot at stake in this featured undercard bout. We know that Peterson has been on a rocky streak as of late, but take into consideration her opposition in that run. Peterson has otherwise proven to be a highly respected and proven contender and will look to continue proving it against a world class submission specialist in Silvio Gotti. If Peterson keeps the fight standing, it’s her fight to lose, but her long limbs will be a tantalizing target for Gotti, who will look to drag her down to his world with takedowns and torment her with submissions. The key factor in this fight will be who can dictate where this fight goes, and I think Peterson’s experience will prevail in the end.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Abbie Peterson by TKO, Round 3 — Abbie’s dropped 2 of her last 3, but to be fair to her, that was to Delaney and the new Lightweight Champ, 2Face Rodriguez. This fight’s going to be a massive clash of styles, and I think the only hope Silvio has is to get the fight to the ground early and keep it there, or throw some wild flying armbar and try to end the fight quick. If it stays on the feet, I think Abbie finishes him off, but Silvio’s shown toughness in the past. It’ll take a lot to get him out there.

UNION GP HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
#5 JOSEPH BYRNE vs #10 DOMINIC DONALDSON

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Dominic Donaldson by 1st Round T/KO — I can’t decide how exactly this fight will end, but I’d be shocked if it goes past the first round either way. Joey Byrne hasn’t been in action since his Interim Heavyweight Championship Grand Prix loss back in August, whereas Donaldson has had five fights during that downtime. That gap of activity makes me believe that Donaldson will be fully prepared and conditioned compared to Byrne who may have trouble finding a rhythm early.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Dominic Donaldson by TKO, Round 1 — I’ve said, over and over again, that the heavyweights scare me. This is a fight that will scare me again. Both Joseph and Dominic can turn opponents’ lights out with a single shot, they match up well, and I imagine this will be the shortest fight of the night, one way or the other. I’m picking with my heart on this one, because my head can’t decide, and I’ll say it’s Dominic that lands that big shot first.

UNION GP MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT
#8 BODHI BOTTOMS vs #9 EAGLE MONDALVI

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Eagle Mondalvi by 2nd Round T/KO — This pick is simply based off the eye test. Mondalvi has just looked better on a number of different levels, proving his 20+ fights prior to signing to Union to be invaluable. It doesn’t hurt either that he completely dismantled Robert Guilliman in his Union debut, a man once feared like no other at 185 pounds. I think Bodhi Bottoms can keep it competitive, but picking “Violent” Eagle just seems like an easy bet.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Eagle Mondalvi by KO, Round 2 — I wish I had a better justification for this one, beyond just a gut feeling, but I’m afraid I don’t this time. Mondalvi utterly dominated former champ Robert Guilliman at UGP 41, while Bodhi got taken down and submitted with relative ease by Reggie James; I don’t see a submission coming this time. I think it’ll be a slugfest, and if Mondalvi can be as accurate against Bodhi as he was against Guilliman, I think he’ll have openings to land a big shot to put him down. But don’t just write off Bodhi–when he lands, he lands BIG.

UNION GP LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT
#5 ERICK COSTA vs #7 D’ANTE JACKSON

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: D’Ante Jackson by 3rd Round T/KO — This to me is a fight decided by momentum. Costa has been on a skid and he’s you have to factor in the level of competition he’s faced during that time. However, D’Ante Jackson has handled his business aside from Derrius Webb and Lovelie Saint-Cyr, two of the best Middleweights right now. I think Jackson utilizes his wrestling and finishes this fight late with some ground and pound.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: D’Ante Jackson by Decision — D’Ante had a slow start against Cat Harris in his last outing, but he turned it around and got the win, something Erick’s struggled to do in the past couple years. 1-4 in his last 5, and I don’t see the turn around happening this weekend. Erick’s notoriously hard to get out of there, though, but I think we’ll see D’Ante control the fight and earn a relatively comfortable decision win.

UNION GP LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT
#6 CAMERON MOSS vs #9 CATHERINE HARRIS

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Catherine Harris by Decision — I think this fight could be very close. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a split decision ruling going either direction, so I’m not 100% confident in my pick here. Make no mistake, Harris is a grinder and has plenty of experience taking fights to the scorecards and more times than not it’s tilted in her favor. The misleading stat here is that Cameron Moss may be 1-3 in Union, but his losses are: Alistair McKay, Abbie Peterson, and Silvio Gotti. Those three are former champions in stints in other companies, so you have to take that into account. Even after all of that though, I still lean toward Cat Harris, but by the slimmest of margins.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Catherine Harris by Decision — Cat had trouble against D’Ante, but otherwise, the last year and a half or so of her career was very solid; and while I love to watch Cameron fight, the same cannot be said of his last year or so. With both fighters being extremely skilled wrestlers, this may be a fight that’s won on the feet, and while I think Moss has the better boxing, Cat may have the better all-around game. I think she’ll get the better of the exchanges on the feet, but I don’t see a finish coming.

UNION GP HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
ARDAN KELLY vs CORTEZ GAINES

ISAAC’S PREDICTION: Ardan Kelly by 3rd Round T/KO — It wasn’t the heavyweight debut Ardan Kelly was hoping for when he came up short in a decision loss to UGP 43 Heavyweight Title Challenger Billy Tweeds, but he gets another crack at getting his first dub in his new division and I think he pulls it off. During his run as a Cruiserweight, Kelly struggled against the top tier competition, always seeming like he was teetering on that line. The move up after the 225 pound division disbanded seemed like the logical choice, seeing as it didn’t seem possible Kelly could make the cut to 185 without going through a wild body transformation. The guys at heavyweight are much bigger and stronger, and Kelly may continue to struggle at times trying to wrestle these behemoths to the ground, where he does his best work. However, Cortez Gaines is a late bloomer in the sport, and his wrestling skills are elementary at best. I see Kelly imposing his will and putting Gaines away late.

KAYLA’S PREDICTION: Ardan Kelly by Decision — It has to be talked about, neither fighter has had a great time recently. Ardan’s dropped 3 of 5, and Gaines has lost every fight in his UGP career–all by knockouts. This is very much a momentum fight, something to build off of, but I think a major part of it is going to depend on where the fight takes place. On the feet, you have to imagine Gaines has the advantage; on the ground, you give it to Ardan. In a pinch, I’ll take the one who’s proven he can win in Union and say Ardan grinds out a decision win.