UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno Picks

The last pay per view of this historic year in the UFC's history. For the past month or so cards have been thin with losses due to COVID and travel visas but now Dana White and Co. gave us a solid pay per view coinciding with the start of the holiday season. Let's see if the gifts come early with these picks!

Ciryl Gane vs. Junior Dos Santos

I hate this fight! Why? Because I love JDS dearly and I hate to see him get hurt. He’s been through so much punishment his last couple fights that I want to see him get back in the win column, but it won’t be happening against Gane. Gane is very accurate and throws with heat; JDS can’t take a punch like he used to and his defense has regressed incredibly. I’m putting money on Gane but I won’t feel good about it and I’ll be taking a bathroom break during this fight to spare my eyes of seeing JDS get knocked out again.

Gane: -425

Renato Moicano vs. Rafael Fiziev

I just wanna start this off by saying Moicano is one of the most disrespected fighters in the game, rankings wise. He’s looked incredible against everyone except for his losses against Chan Sung Jung, José Aldo, and Brian Ortega. These are all people who have recently competed for a title in one weight class or another. Why he’s not getting someone ranked after quickly finishing Damir Hadžović in his lightweight debut is beyond me. Fiziev is someone just outside of the top-15 and is extremely dangerous. He broke down talented striker Marc Diakiese in his previous fight and looked like someone who’s going to be around for a while. Despite this, I don’t see him beating Moicano. Based on him going against some of the greatest strikers in featherweight history (Jung, Aldo, Swanson, Kattar) he is just a level above Fiziev. He’s a more measured and technical striker and boasts a great advantage on the ground. Odds makers got this one wrong so I’m loving this one even more, give me Moicano at +160 baby.

Moicano: +160

Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira

Probably the biggest fight on this card features the return of Tony Ferguson in a three round contest against Charles Oliveira. Oliveira is like a Tony Ferguson-lite to me if that makes sense. Long limbs, creative striking, great scrambles. These two fighting is like that meme of the two Spidermen pointing at each other if one of the Spidermen was a less imposing and less impressive Spiderman. The biggest improvement in Oliveira’s game has been his confidence. In places he would’ve previously folded, he thrives. When he got knocked down against David Teymur I thought it was wraps for him but Do Bronx came back and actually won. He showed no respect for Kevin Lee’s striking and ran through him. I’m just not sure if he can do the same thing against Tony Ferguson. The Tony we saw against Gaethje was a result of him doing his second weight cut in three weeks. Some say age finally caught up to him and it may have but not to the point where he loses to Oliveira. I see Charles looking great until Tony drags him to deep waters and eventually secures the finish.

Ferguson: -150

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno

The headliner is a very interesting matchup between two red hot flyweights. Figueiredo has had a great streak finishing the legend Joseph Benavidez twice and making very short work of Alex Perez. What’s going to be more interesting about this than the fight itself is the fight both are gonna have against the scales. Both have four week turnarounds, have missed weight in the past, and took little damage in their previous fights. How these guys look at weigh-ins will honestly be the biggest indicator for the fight because as nasty as Fig’s striking is, I think Moreno is as good on the ground. Fig seems extremely motivated and said he’s done a better job at keeping his weight down so I feel comfortable taking him.

Figuerdo: -300