by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 2/20/2026 In our predictions from last week which you can find here , Matt went 4-2 on picks while correctly predicting 2 methods for 6 total points. Zak went 3-3 on picks and also predicting 2 methods for 5 total points Points-to-Date: Matt: 21 (14-5) Zak: 20 (14-5) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook Photo from Matt Bohm/ MMA Junkie via Yahoo Sports 3 Sean Strickland v 4 Anthony Hernand

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 2/18/2026 10. Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler Photo by Cooper Neill/ Zuffa LLC All Out War. Some of the fights on this list had incredible builds, some had titles on the line and some had crazy finishes. This fight had none of the above but did have 2 of the most competitive rounds I've ever seen. For the first two rounds, this fight in 2021 had slams, knockdowns and the crowd going wild from start to finish. Chandler proved he is one of th

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 2/14/2026 I feel like I need to say this before we get into the list: Brock Lesnar is one of the most famous Heavyweight in UFC history and a former champion but he was 4-3 (1NC) in the UFC which is no where near enough to make this list. 10. Tim Sylvia Alright youngens, for those of you who got into the sport around COVID, a name you probably don't know and need to look up is Tim Sylvia. From 2002 to 2007, Sylvia not only held gold in the UFC

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation 2/11/2026 Photo by Chris Unger/ Zuffa LLC 8 Mario Bautista vs Song Yadong After winning his first Main Event last week in dominant fashion, Bautista is ready for a Top-5 fight. While I like his shoutout to Cory Sandhagen, I think his next opponent should be Song Yadong. Yadong has lost two of his last three fights now after losing to O'Malley in January and probably needs someone further down the rankings than Sandhagen would. In co

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 2/7/2026 Last Week for UFC 325, Zak went 6-1 and Matt went 6-1, with Matt predicting 3 correct methods and Zak picking 2. Points-to-Date: Zak: 15 (11-2) Matt: 15 (10-3) Photo by Chris Unger/ Zuffa LLC 9 Mario Bautista vs 11 Vinicius Oliveira ( Bautista -140 ) Zak Drapeau Unfortunately, this Main Event won't get nearly enough praise as it should because it will be a fantastic fight. Bautista is coming into this fight after losing f

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 2/2/2026 Alexander Volkanovski vs WINNER of Lerone Murphy vs Mosvar Evloev Photo by Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC Matt Hylen After watching his post-fight octagon interview, it seemed to me that Volkanovski assumed that he would face the winner of a potential title eliminator between Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy. He was right to assume that, as a title eliminator between the two was announced on Monday afternoon. Whoever the winner

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 1/30/2026 (All odds are via Caesar's Sportsbook on 1/29) Last week Zak went 5-1 and Matt went 4-2 in picking the winners of UFC 324 with both getting 2 methods right as well. For UFC 325 this week, the boys will predict __ fights in their ongoing series of UFC Predictions ALL YEAR Points To Date: Zak - 7 Matt - 6 Photo by Chris Unger/ Zuffa LLC C Alexander Volkanovski vs #2 Diego Lopes 2 Featherweight Championship (Volkanovski -

Photo Credit to Ian Maule via Getty Images Justin Gaethje vs Ilia Topuria Lightweight Championship Zak Drapeau I still believe we will see Makhachev vs. Topuria, but now that Gaethje is the interim champ, this fight should probably happen first. This also has Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night written all over it as the probable heaviest and most technical strikers of the division square off. Who knows what Topuria's future holds and how his style, skill, and prowe

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 1/23/2026 - Sportz Nation Photo Graphic by UFC via ufc.com Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett Lightweight Championship (Pimblett -230) This should be an all-out war, even if it's between two fighters who aren't currently deserving of the title shot. Nonetheless, when the Highlight Reel and the Scouser come to blows, one has to assume that the veteran Gaethje should win the chess match when striking. The two have made claims that they plan to keep t

Photo Credit to DiazTwinsMMA/Instagram The UFC looks incredibly different from how it did at the start of 2025. Whether it be its switch from Pay-Per-View on ESPN+ to Paramount+ or the division contenders themselves, the sport is in a fantastic place going into a new era. Looking at the champions, I think there could be a major mix-up in who holds the belts come the end of 2026. Very few are viewed as "unbeatable," which is a new concept for the sport as a whole. With fighter

by Zak Drapeau 1/31/2025 Sportz Nation Here's a look at my list of my Top 24 Athletes of 2024 , with guys like Shohei Ohtani, Connor McDavid and a slew of Summer Olympians dominating the list. Without an Olympic event this year, this list will be compiled of mostly athletes in the big sporting leagues such as NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, various Soccer leagues and others. In the fourth year of doing this list, I am a bit biased toward the top sports leagues but will always give credi

by Zak Drapeau 12/20/2025 Sportz Nation So this will be my third time making this list since 2018 and truth be told there isn't too much change from my most recent list in 2022 with MMA Complete but there are a few. Since the dawn of one of the greatest sports on Earth, while not the first company to do so, the UFC became one of the biggest MMA promotions in the world when it started on November 12, 1993 and has been the #1 of it's kind for over two decades to date. While I'd

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 12/17/2025 Sportz Nation Zak Drapeau's Picks Photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck/ Imagn Images #2 Manel Kape vs Joshua Van (Flyweight Championship) In our last matchmaking I had Tatsuro Taira as the next challenger at 125 but now Manel Kape has moved into that spot with Pantoja injured. Kape has never faced someone outside of the Top-15 and now has won 7 of his last 8 with 3 knockouts in a row. _________________________________ #4 Brandon Royval vs (Winn

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 12/10/2025 Sportz Nation Zak's Picks Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili 3 (Bantamweight Championship) Photo by Chris Unger/ Zuffa LLC via Getty Images If any former champion deserves an immediate rematch, it's Merab, and I believe he'll get it. Whether their trilogy concludes in the first half of 2026 or at the White House card is up for debate. Due to the lack of drawing power either of these men has, I can actually see this fight being before the ca

by Zak Drapeau 12/6/2025 Sportz Nation * Not counting Conor, Jon Jones or Amanda Nunes Honorable Mentions: To Aspinall, Kevin Holland and Alexander Volkanovski Photo by Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC 10. Justin Gaethje How fitting that the first entry on our list will be headlining the first Numbered Event of 2026. Justin Gaethje has long been around the top of the Lightweig division and even though he is one of the best fighters in the world, his draw-ability is due to his style. O

by Zak Drapeau 12/3/2025 Sportz Nation Photo Generated by UFC via Fox News Special Report Main Events 1. Tom Aspinall vs Alex Pereira ( Heavyweight Championship ) With Dana White reiterating that Jon Jones can not be trusted to be on this card, Aspinall vs Pereira has to be the most wanted fight for this event. Alex Pereira has been the biggest name in the sport for 2 years now and for him to move up a division and challenge for the Heavyweight Championship would be an All-Ti

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 11/25/2025 Sportz Nation Zak Drapeau's Matchmaking Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/ USA Today Sports Armen Tsarukyan vs Max Holloway (Vacant Lightweight Title) Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint Denis Not sure if this is controversial or if most think like me, but I don't think Topuria wants to "waste his time" with Tsarukyan. I believe he's likely to move up to 170 to fight Makhachev at the White House, which leaves Tsarukyan as the obvious choice for the nex

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 11/19/2025 Sportz Nation Matt's Fights Islam Makhachev vs Ilia Topuria Jack Della Maddelena vs Shavkat Rakhmonov I think there is only one fight to make for Islam Makhachev, which could be the biggest fight in modern UFC history. A fight with Ilia Topuria is the only move that makes sense for both parties, as they are both on different levels than the fighters below them. We will be able to see the best striker in the UFC face off against the be

by Zak Drapeau 11/15/2025 Sportz Nation WAKO Championships Just before Thanksgiving day of 2025, local kickboxer and growing legend Aidan Lambert will represent New England and America in Abu Dhabi in the WAKO Kickboxing World Championships. What is the WAKO World Championships? "WAKO" itself, (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) is the world's governing body for the sport of Kickboxing. The WAKO World Championships are single elimination tournaments of one-on-on

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen 11/12/2025 Sportz Nation Photo by Ron Chenoy/ Imagn Images 10 Gabriel Bonfim vs 7 Joaquin Buckley Randy Brown vs Uros Medic Gabriel Bonfim has now won 4 in a row in one of the best divisions in the sport. His next fight should be a PPV Main Card fight and with #7 Joaquin Buckley also looking for a fight, this one would be a perfect opportunity and a deserved fight for both fighters. Randy Brown may have claimed the TKO loss over Bonfim was e