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Flyweights

No. 13 | Tyson Nam (20-11-1, 2-2 UFC) vs. No. 9 | Matt Schnell (14-5, 4-3 UFC)

ODDS: Nam (-130), Schnell (+110)

This fight has fallen apart and been rebooked a few times, but assuming it finally happens, it should be entertaining and worth the wait. Louisiana’s Schnell appeared to be a prospect with a lot of upside upon his UFC debut, but his first few bouts inside the Octagon exposed a shocking lack of durability for a flyweight fighter. To his credit, “Danger” eventually adapted and righted the ship, leveraging his long frame into a patient striking style that allowed him to keep opponents at a distance, all while having some venomous submission skills in his back pocket. That led to a surprising four-fight winning streak, but a loss to Alexandre Pantoja at the tail end of 2019 did raise some concerns about Schnell’s ability to become a true contender. Schnell quickly got knocked out, raising those durability questions once again. He will look for a rebound against Nam, who used 2020 to gain a bit of momentum and finally earn some UFC wins. Nam was purely in the globetrotting veteran phase of his career when he got the late-notice UFC call, so it has been a pleasant surprise to see him both in the Octagon and riding a two-fight win streak. Nam’s style is well put-together but difficult to rely on, as he is often patient to a fault while looking to blast his opponent with big counters. If he can score a knockout—a risky proposition at flyweight—then everything works out fine, but Nam has lost many times to inferior opponents simply because they were the ones more willing to throw volume and win rounds. Luckily, Schnell should give Nam some opportunities to score big, particularly thanks to those durability concerns. The pick is Nam via first-round knockout.

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