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UFC Matchmaking After UFC 329
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 7/13/2026 Photo Credits to Chris Unger via Zuffa LLC 4Max Holloway vs 4Jack Della Maddelena Matt Hylen - Unfortunately, there is not much to say about the performance of Max Holloway other than the fact that the fight as a whole was extremely anticlimactic. However, in his post-fight interviews, it seemed to me like Max Holloway wanted to see what he could do in the Welterweight division. Since he was not able to see that in this

Sportz Nation Staff
1 day ago


Predicting UFC 329
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 7/9/2026 Photo Credits to Steve Marcus via Getty Images In our FN Fiziev vs Torres Predictions, which you can find here: Zak went 5-1 in picks with 3 methods for 8 points. Matt went 3-3 in picks with 2 methods right for 5 points. Points To Date: Zak: 124 (83-46) Matt: 116 (76-53) All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 7/10 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Conor McGregor vs 4Max Holloway (Holloway -210) Zak Drapeau - It'

Sportz Nation Staff
5 days ago


UFC Midyear Awards
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 7/7/2026 Photo Credits to Chris Unger via Zuffa LLC UFC Male Fighter of the Year Current: Justin Gaethje Honorable Mention: Sean Strickland Zak Drapeau - Fighter of the Year is awarded for a number of reasons that are subjective to every voter and usually have to do with the number of wins, number of title wins, and the way you win. Justin Gaethje has checked all of those boxes. In his first fight of the year, Gaethje had arguably

Sportz Nation Staff
Jul 7


Matchmaking After Fight Night Baku: Fiziev KOs Torres
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 6/29/2026 Photo Credits to Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC via Getty Images 11Rafael Fiziev vs 9Dan Hooker Zak Drapeau - Fiziev is definitely a better fighter when in front of his home country of Azerbaijan because he looked phenomenal this weekend. His leg kicks were razor-sharp and set up the knockout spinning head kick beautifully. I don't think this win automatically brings him back to a path to the title, but it definitely keeps him

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 29


Predicting Fight Night Baku: Fiziev v Torres
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 6/26/2026 Graphic Credits to UFC via sports.yahoo.com In our FN Kape v Horiguchi, which you can find here: Zak went 6-0 in picks with 5 method for 11 points. Matt went 4-2 in picks with 3 method right for 7 points. Points To Date: Zak: 116 (78-45) Matt: 111 (73-50) All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 6/25 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11Rafael Fiziev vs 15Manuel Torres (Pick 'Em) Zak Drapeau - What a war we have i

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 26


Matchmaking After Fight Night Kape v Horiguchi
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sports Nation - 6/23/2026 Photo Credits to Chris Unger via Zuffa LLC Manel Kape vs WINNER of Van v Pantoja Matt Hylen - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Kyoji Horiguchi vs WINNER of Almabayev v Johnson Zak Drapeau - Horiguchi is in a vulnerable state of his career after being dismantled this weekend and will be turning 36 years old soon but still has a lot to give this division. After tearing up promotions around the world and then dazzl

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 23


Predicting UFC Fight Night Kape vs Horiguchi
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 6/19/2026 Graphic Credit to UFC via f4wonline.com In our UFC Freedom Predictions, which you can find here: Zak went 4-3 in picks with 2 method for 6 points. Matt went 3-4 in picks with 1 method right for 4 points. Points To Date: Zak: 105 (72-45) Matt: 104 (69-48) All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 6/18 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2Manel Kape vs 5Kyoji Horguchi (Kape -155) Zak Drapeau - This is a terrific matchup tha

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 19


Matchmaking After UFC Freedom 250
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation Photo Credits to Chris Unger via Zuffa LLC Justin Gaethje vs Arman Tsarukyan Zak Drapeau - Captain America Justin Gaethje just had what some fans would honestly call, the greatest moment in UFC history. One of the most beloved and exciting fighters in UFC history finally became Undisputed Champion after putting on one of the overall best fights of the year and maybe in UFC history. Gaethje’s moment and era of UFC Champion is already

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 16


Predicting UFC 250 Freedom at the White House
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 6/12/2026 Graphic Credits to UFC via mmamania.com In our FN Muhammad v Bonfim, which you can find here: Zak went 3-3 in picks with 2 method for 5 points. Matt went 2-4 in picks with 1 methods right for 3 points. Points To Date: Zak: 99 (68-42) Matt: 100 (66-44) All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 6/10 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CIlia Topuria vs ICJustin Gaethje Lightweight Championship (Topuria -600) Zak Dra

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 12


Sportz Nation Panel Predictions for the 2026 World Cup
by Zak Drapeau, Matt Hylen, Joel Piton and Will Gilhooly Sportz Nation - 6/10/2026 Photo Credits to ESPN Illustrations Zak Drapeau - So if you've seen my World Cup Group Stage Predictions article, you know I am extremely high on a few teams. Those teams include France, England, Spain, Portugal, and Japan. I believe they'll all walk out of the Group Stages as their group's winner and move on to the knockout stage, where the real fun begins. The 2026 edition of the World Cup kn

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 10


Matchmaking After UFC Fight Night Muhammad vs Bonfim
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 6/9/2026 Photo by Chris Unger/ Zuffa LLC Gabriel Bonfim vs Michael Morales Matt Hylen - If this were to happen, it would be must-see TV. With Gabriel Bonfim’s win over Belal Muhammad, it propels him right into that top-7 range that could definitely warrant a fight against a legit contender. With the welterweight division so crowded at the top, it is safe to say that both Bonfim and Michael Morales need one more fight before making

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 9


5 BOLD Predictions for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix
Photo graphic by Marcelo Kananie Marmo/Behance Round 6 of the 2026 F1 season is underway in Monaco. The pinnacle of motorsport, Monaco is always circled on the calendars of teams, drivers, and fans alike. This iconic street circuit, known for its tight and slow corners and narrow width, is known to be the toughest test for the drivers throughout the entire season. With overtaking so challenging around this circuit, qualifying is everything. Coming into qualifying, it seemed a

Matt Hylen
Jun 6


Fight Night: Muhammad vs Bonfim Predictions
by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/5/2026 Graphic Credits to UFC via mmajunkie.usatoday.com In our FN Allen vs Costa Predictions, which you can find here: Zak went 4-1 (1NC) in picks with 1 method for 5 points. Matt went 3-2 (1 NC) in picks with 2 methods right for 3 points. Points To Date: Zak: 94 (65-39) Matt: 97 (64-40) All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 6/4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5Belal Muhammad vs 11Gabriel Bonfim (Muhammad -120) Zak Drapeau - In

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 5


What To Do After FN Macau: UFC Matchmaking
by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/1/2026 Photo Credits to Jeff Bottari via Zuffa LLC Song Yadong vs WINNER of Sandhagen/Bautista Zak Drapeau - With this win over Figueiredo, Yadong is back in the title picture, even if he's probably the last man in the rotation. With the top of this division so clogged regarding each fighter's upcoming fight, Yadong is probably left to fight either the winner of the Sandhagen/Bautista fight or the loser of the recently announced Nurmagomedov/M

Sportz Nation Staff
Jun 2


Fight Night Macau: Yadong vs Figueiredo Predictions
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 5/22/2026 Graphic by UFC via galaxymacau.com In our FN Allen vs Costa Predictions which you can find here, Zak went 3-3 in picks with 1 method for 4 points. Matt went 3-3 in picks with 2 methods right for 5 points. Points To Date: Zak: 89 (61-38) Matt: 94 (61-38) *All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 5/27 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5Song Yadong vs 7Deiveson Figueiredo (Yadong -600) Zak Drapeau - Figueiredo had a ru

Sportz Nation Staff
May 29


5 Bold Predictions for the F1 Canadian Grand Prix
Photo graphic by Full Send GP via youtube.com After another long and grueling break, round 5 of the 2026 Formula One season has officially begun, with chaos already hitting the track for what is Canada's first sprint weekend. The weekend kicked off with a bang, as Mercedes claimed yet another 1-2 in Sprint Qualifying. With Kimi Antonelli only a few hundredths of a second behind his teammate and pole sitter George Russell, things seemed to be lined up for another dominant week

Matt Hylen
May 24


What To Do After Fight Night Allen v Costa: UFC Matchmaking
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 5/18/2026 Photo by Ed Mulholland via Zuffa LLC 7Arnold Allen vs 10Kevin Vallejos Matt Hylen - Sure, it might be weird to see Arnold Allen not getting a fight up the rankings, but with the top so clogged, a win against one of the best prospects in the entire UFC might do just as much for him. Allen looked fantastic on Saturday. He completely shut down Costa's striking and controlled him on the ground for most of the fight. So, whil

Sportz Nation Staff
May 19


Predicting UFC Fight Night Costa vs Allen
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 5/15/2026 Graphic by UFC via UFC.com In our UFC 328 Predictions which you can find here, Zak went 3-3 in picks with 2 method for 5 points. Matt went 2-4 in picks with 0 methods for 2 points. Points To Date: Zak: 85 (58-35) Matt: 89 (58-35) *All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 5/11 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8Arnold Allen vs 12Melquizael Costa (Allen -140) Zak Drapeau - Costa is taller, younger, has a bigg

Sportz Nation Staff
May 15


Matchmaking After UFC 328
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 5/11/2026 Photo by Ishika Samant via Getty Images Sean Strickland vs 2Nassourdine Imavov Zak Drapeau - Strickland has defied the odds again and become only the 2nd two-time Middleweight champion. There are a number of fighters who could challenge Strickland first, including the former champion Du Plessis, who beat Strickland twice, but I think I'm giving Imavov the shot first. In a would-be rematch three years in the making, Nasso

Sportz Nation Staff
May 11


Predicting UFC 328
by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 5/8/2026 Graphic by UFC via UFC.com In our Fight Night Della Maddalena vs Prates Predictions which you can find here, Zak went 4-2 in picks with 1 method for 5 points. Matt went 6-0 in picks with 5 methods for 11 points. Points To Date: Zak: 80 (55-32) Matt: 87 (56-31) *All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 5/6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CKhamzat Chimaev vs 3Sean Strickland (Chimaev -600) Zak Drapeau - Sean Stric

Sportz Nation Staff
May 8
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