LFA has been putting on some banger cards recently and this one is no exception. Once again I think we will have some guys looking to get DWCS opportunities. This card is broadcast on Friday at 09:00 PM ET on UFC Fight Pass.

BEATRIZ MESQUITA (4-0) vs.SIERRA DINWOODIE (4-0) – Women's Bantamweight

Beatriz Mesquita is an elite BJJ fighter with one of the greatest grappling resumes of all time. She is a 10 time wold champion in BJJ. Her grappling is elite but everywhere else she is lacking a bit. Her striking is not good at all and she did get caught early in her last fight. She is listed at 5'4″, and Dinwoodie is 5'11”. I think Sierra Dinwoodie has potential based on her size for the weight class alone, but she is very awkward. It's almost like she is so big she has lost athleticism as she looks off balance and her reaction times are slow. In the grappling Dinwoodie can give up her a back and I don't like that at all in this match up. Given the size of Dinwoodie and Mesquita being elite yet very one dimensional I was trying to find ways to justify picking Dinwoodie as a +275 underdog, but I can't. She did drop her last opponent but she really only got lucky with a spinning hammer fist landing perfectly.

Pick: Beatriz Mesquita by submission. Medium confidence.

PHUMI NKUTA (9-0) vs. CODY DAVIS (9-2) – Flyweight

I do like Phumi and he has been deserving of a UFC opportunity for years now. The problem is he is not an exciting fighter to watch and somehow it got leaked that the UFC match makers don't like him because of it. He fights with a very safe, clinch heavy, wrestle heavy style that scores points but doesn't entertain. He did take some time away from MMA to pursue professional wrestling and he is now back in MMA. If he was to get a UFC shot I think he is going to need to get a finish or two. Cody Davis is fun to watch as he is tiny (he is 5'3″), I think he would make Josh Van look like a legit flyweight. Davis is also a wrestler but I don't think his wrestling is as good as Phumi's, and I would even argue that Phumi's striking is better as well. Davis is a former champion and he does have great wins but a couple of his recent performances haven't been good looks. He is easily backed up and is hittable on the feet. I think Phumi is going to grind against the clinch here for another boring win like he did in his last fight. At this point I think Phumi just needs to fight some really bad local guys to get a couple ground and pound wins in a row and then he could try make a case for a UFC shot. I did pick Phumi to win by finish in his last fight because I thought he was going to be aggressive to try get his UFC shot with a finish. I won't be making that mistake again.

Pick: Phumi Nkuta by decision. Medium-high confidence.

GIGI CANUTO (5-1) vs. FIOR HERNANDEZ (4-2) – Women's Strawweight

Canuto is a legit prospect. She is -2500 so there isn't much to break down here but she is an elite grappler who showed some great ground and pound in her last fight. Hernandez hasn't been active and has been fighting at women's atomweight for Invicta. Invicta has some pretty good production for a local show but oh my goodness is Megan Anderson's commentary unbearable. I have seen Hernandez get put in abd positions by worse fighters than GiGi, I think she gets finished.

Pick: GiGi Canuto by submission. High confidence.

LUCAS SEIBERT (5-0) vs. GUSTAVO KRUGER (4-0) – Bantamweight

I haven't seen tape on either of these guys. Kruger hasn't fought since 2018 and all his fights are on events that may have never existed against people that may not exist (I am not kidding, check his tapology page). Seibert has spent his entire career fighting for a promotion which is locked behind a paywall, and I only pay to watch local events if I'm breaking down DWCS fights. He is coming off a win against Lucas Byrd in BJJ who is apparently a good wrestler. I looked at Seibert's social media and it seems like he trains a lot of wrestling and grappling so I'll pick him to win by submission.

Pick: Lucas Seibert by submission. High confidence (but not really since there is no tape).

ADAM LIVINGSTON (5-0) vs. HUGO OYARZUN (8-4) – Lightweight

Not sold on Livingston as a prospect yet. He is 6'2″ so he has great length for 155 lbs but he has a very lanky Sam Patterson type build. He looks very awkward on the feet and I am not sure how good his take down defense truly is as he did get taken down a couple times in his last fight against a 3-2 opponent, who was also 6'2″. Oyarzun is a wrestler. He wants a take down and then wants to control. He is very boring but only really beats low level guys, he has lost to anyone that has some skills. His striking is awful and he has no striking defense. This fight comes down to if Oyarzun can get take downs consistently. I'm going to predict he gets knocked out but not fully confident in it.

Pick: Adam Livingston by KO/TKO. Low confidence.

JACOBI JONES (7-3) vs. SHOVKHAL CHURCHAEV (6-2) – Lightweight

I have never been a believer in JaCobi Jones, and in fact I picked Daniel James Allen to beat him on DWCS in 2023 as a +230 underdog. He isn't a bad fighter at all I just think he is overrated. He's very well built but looks small for the weight class in most match ups. He boxes with big power but gets backed up very easily. He can wrestle but doesn't. Just a very confusing fighter. In theory, Churchaev is a nightmare match up for Jones. We saw Jones get backed up by Gennrich and Allen, who are both tall lightweights. And Gennrich is an abysmal striker. Shovkhal Churchaev is a 6'1″ striker who throws a lot of flashy strikes, but doesn't seem to do the basics very well. He has some boxing and Nashe Delo experience but I haven't been impressed with him yet. Churchaev seems to be a bit of a menace outside of the cage as well and doesn't have a good reputation apparently in the Russian MMA scene. Bit of a terrible breakdown by me but I am confused. I just feel like if Jones loses this fight it would be a very big fall from grace.

Pick: JaCobi Jones by KO/TKO. Low confidence.