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Bantamweights

Irwin Rivera (9-5) vs. Ali AlQaisi (8-3)

ODDS: Rivera (-200), Alqaisi (+170)

Alqaisi makes some history here with his UFC debut, as he will become the promotion’s first fighter to hail from Jordan. However, “The Royal Fighter” still has a way to go before he figures to make much of an impact inside of the Octagon, as he is a brute of a wrestler and little else. Even then, his wins at the regional level feel like they should have been more dominant. At any rate, that all may still be enough to get the nod against Rivera since he is not much of a wrestler. Rivera is a solid, sometimes low-output, striker who did not get to show any of his skills in a late-notice debut in May. Rivera is on the small side for a bantamweight, and he stepped in at featherweight against the much larger Giga Chikadze, who successfully kept him at bay for three rounds. There is not much reason to have faith in either fighter, but Rivera figures to have the more successful offense assuming he actually throws. There is a decent chance that Alqaisi just takes the initiative in an ugly grind, but the pick is Rivera via decision.

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