Technically speaking, Raoni is the more accomplished wrestler, he's probably the more technical striker too, But i am still picking Ricky and feel pretty good about it. Ricky's wrestling is non stop so even if Raoni has early defense, he won't defend all of them and we all know how bad high level wrestlers can look off their backs. I think Ricky sets an incredible pace here and puts on a show.

Ricky Simon

Ricky Simon is a high energy wrestling beast. The guy will dive on leg after leg with 100% energy over and over until he gets a takedown If he doesn't get a takedown, there is no plan b, he just goes back to the takedowns. His biggest assett is his gas tank and willingness to stick to a plan. He is not a technical striker but it is there to setup his takedowns and he does have some very real power. We just saw that power on full display back in February when he knocked out Javid Basharat in the first round.

Raoni Barcelos

Roani Barcelos is aging, but still an incredibly well rounded fighter who can get wins at this level. Striking wise, he has great low leg kicks, solid volume and a great pace. Wrestling wise he is a 5 time Brazilian National Champion who averages around 2 takedowns per fight and has a 82% takedown defense. He is good everywhere but is definitely slowing down with age. He is coming off the straight forward win over Cody Garbrandt