2021 was certainly a mixed bag for Thiago
Moises. Despite being in his mid-twenties, Moises came to the
UFC with the seasoned and consistent game of a much older fighter,
eventually turning the corner into a three-fight winning streak
capped by a February 2021 shellacking of Alexander
Hernandez. That figured to set the Brazilian up for some bigger
things, but it was still a surprise when Moises got the call for
his first UFC main event against Islam
Makhachev last July. That fight didn't go particularly well for
Moises, which wasn't entirely unexpected, but his attempt at a
rebound was a bit worrying - Moises never really got out of the
gates against Joel
Alvarez, whose range striking was able to tear through Moises's
patient approach and set things up for a first-round stoppage.
He'll look to rebound here against Christos
Giagos, a solid fighter still in search of a breakout win.
Giagos has been much the same fighter through his two UFC stints, a
solid athlete who can do a bit of everything and looks to
consistently pressure his opponents. That go-anywhere approach has
found its most success when Giagos has been able to out-wrestle his
opponents; without that, he's hit a clear wall, with some
particularly rough matchmaking against Charles
Oliveira and Arman
Tsarukyan dotting this current UFC run. Moises isn't quite to
that level, but he's a dangerous submission artist that should be
able to put some second thoughts in Giagos's head about taking this
to the mat; and while Giagos is likely to take the initiative on
the feet, Moises figures to have the hand speed to tag Giagos with
some hard shots. This may not be the prettiest affair, but Moises
should find his way back into the win column; the pick is Moises
via decision.
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