The UFC card this weekend isn't one of their best, but there is a lot of great MMA happening this weekend in Europe. KSW, OKTAGON, and Cage Warriors all have big cards taking place this weekend.

OKTAGON 59: Summer Party

This is the card Felipe Lima was meant to headline before he signed to the UFC to fight Muhammad Naimov on short notice. I strongly believe that OKTAGON is a highly underrated promotion. They are huge in Europe and I am always impressed by the size of their crowds. They have a big event coming up in Germany later this year in a stadium of capacity 55,000 people. This is a smaller event in a small arena in Slovakia. The event will be broadcast on DAZN at 12:00 PM ET on Saturday July 20.

RONALD PARADEISER (19-8) vs. DANIEL TORRES (15-5) – Lightweight Tournament Bout

Ronald Paradeiser has been on a massive run recently, winning 6 fights in a row and winning 4 of those fights by KO. He is a big lightweight with big power. He uses his range at 6′ 2″ well to fight from distance against smaller opponents. Daniel Torres is one of those smaller opponents. He is a former featherweight champion of KSW where he become the first person to defeat the great Salahdine Parnasse. You could argue that the show was somewhat lucky as he connected in the perfect position with his forearm on a missed strike to win by KO. He signed to PFL shortly after and looked unimpressive against Alejandro Flores – who failed a drug test. Torres is going to be much smaller at this weight class and I expect that size difference to be a big factor. I am going to pick Paradeiser to win by KO. It's a good match up for him stylistically and his momentum is hard to deny.

LOSENE KEITA (13-1) vs. PREDRAG BOGDONAVIC (16-1) – Lightweight Tournament Bout

This is a massive prospect vs. prospect fight. Losene Keita should be undefeated but he suffered an unfortunate injury which lead to a loss to Mate Sanikidze. Since then, Mate has done everything he possibly can to avoid the rematch. Keita has been regarded as one of the best fighters in the world not signed to the UFC. He has a tricky striking style and can grapple as well. He possesses great power and has managed to defeat many great opponents by KO in the first round. Predrag is a prospect I hoped would sign to the UFC. He accepted a fight against Will Brooks on what was a very stacked Titan FC card and he lost his undefeated record which was standing at an impressive 14-0 at the time. Throughout his career he has fought decent competition on the Serbian regional scene but nobody like Keita. Predrag will be bigger and will look to wrestle but I just don't think he will be able to deal with Keita on the feet. Keita has all the skills to win this fight and I predict him to win by KO.

Other Picks:

Andres Michailidis by DEC

Jonas Magard by DEC

 

KSW 96: Pawlak vs. Janikowski 2

KSW is another huge promotion in Europe. Based in Poland, they have some of the best European fighters in the world on their roster. KSW 96 can be watched on PPV through the KSW MMA website. The event takes place on Saturday 20 July at 01:00 PM ET.

PAWEL PAWLAK (23-4-1) vs. DAMIAN JANIKOWSKI 2 (10-5) – Middleweight Championship

Pawel Pawlak is the defending KSW middleweight champion. He is a powerful striker with decent takedown defense. He will need that in this match up as his opponent Janikowski is a former bronze medalist in the Olympics in greco roman wrestling, and a former silver medalist at the world championships in greco roman wrestling. This fight is a rematch from 2021 where Pawlak won by decision. Damian only has 9 professional fights at that time so he has significantly more MMA experience now. I still like Pawlak in the match up though. There is no denying that he is the better striker and he has proven to be able to defend take downs in his career.

EWELINA WOZNIAK (8-2) vs. MARIA SILVA 2 (10-1) – Women's Strawweight

This is a rematch from a couple of years ago where Maria Silva won by submission in a different promotion called Ares FC. Maria Silva should be able to win by submission again. I think she is a great prospect and has proven herself many times. She has fought on the Contender Series twice, winning her first fight by decision but then losing her second fight to Victoria Dudakova. Because I rate Silva so highly and she was beaten easily by Dudakova is why I think Dudakova is a great prospect. Signed to KSW now I don't think we see her in the UFC but I she is a great fighter and I expect her to win by submission again.

Other Picks:

Dominik Humburger by KO – Was actually signed to fight on Contender Series but his KSW contract prevented him from fighting

Cage Warriors 174

Cage Warriors 174 will be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass at 12:00 PM ET on Saturday July 20.

SHAJIDUL HAQUE (16-5) vs. NICOLAS LEBLOND (10-4) – Flyweight Championship

I really like Haque as a fighter and wish we could see him in the UFC. He is too old to be called a prospect at 33 years old but he does have the talent to make an impact on the UFC's flyweight division if eh was given the opportunity. He is coming off two very impressive wins. Sam Creasey was on a great run until he got shut down and knocked out by Haque, and Michele Martignoni turned down a Contender Series fight at bantamweight to move down to flyweight to challenge for the belt. Haque beat Michele and looked great. Leblond is ona  4 fight win streak and has shown dangerous finishing ability. He has made himself known in Cage Warriors, winning 3 fights in a row with 3 finishes. I do like Haque's experience and I think that is even more important since this fight is 5 rounds. I'm picking Haque by decision or late finish.

FURY FC 94: Vigil vs. Gwerder

Fury FC will be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass on Sunday July 21 at 02:30 PM ET.

PICKS:

Adam Vigil (Low Confidence)

Mando Gutierrez by SUB

Cameron Smotherman by KO followed by a legendary post fight interview