by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 9/1/2026 Photo Credits to Xinhua via IMAGO Song Yadong vs Merab Dvalishvili Matt Hylen - After a knockout like that against an opponent like Umar Nurmagomedov, Song Yadong has officially solidified himself as one of the top-2 contenders in the division, alongside Sean O'Malley. His performance on Saturday night was absolutely spectacular; he did not let anything get to him, stayed composed, and ultimately sent Umar Nurmagomedov in

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/28/2026 10. Wyatt Young 6'0" 195 lbs. Oklahoma St Pro Comparison John Metchie 2025 Overview Young went from an okay freshman season to an absolute breakout year in 2025 at North Texas and one of the best slot receivers in all of FBS. Young didn't truly gain WR1 favor until Week 6 but once he did he was unguardable. He had 5 games over 100 yards in a 6 week period including 9-190-1 and 8-295-2 performances against admittedly weaker teams in Cha

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/27/2026 Welcome to Draft Season! Technically the new draft season starts the day after the NFL Draft but with the College Football season set to kick off tomorrow and the NFL season only 2 weeks away, I'm using this timeline to start my official Draft Content for the 2027 season. Draft content will start with this Mock Draft but as my content showed last year, I will be again prioritizing player evaluations and team makeup over Mock Draft exer

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 8/17/2026 Photo Credits to Derik Hamilton via Associated Press Islam Makhachev vs Carlos Prates Matt Hylen - There's only one man, now that Ian Machado Garry got his shot, that deserves a shot at the title and that's Carlos Prates. Sure, Michael Morales was the backup fighter for the Makhachev/Garry fight, but his resume still needs one more top contender before getting a shot over Prates. Now, do I think Prates is stylistically t

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/18/2026 Photo Credits to Zach Dimmit via Sports Illustrated 10. Cam Coleman WR Texas Let's start this list off with a wild card pick straight away! Truth be told I'm not too sure if this pick is indeed a hot take because Cam Coleman is an elite WR athlete who will be joining a Texas team with one of the best QBs in the country in an offensive-friendly system. In two seasons at Auburn, Coleman did well statistically but didn't take the year 2-

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/11/2026 When I made this list in 2022 which you can find here, I had Shavkat, Du Plessis, Chimaev, Pereira and Topuria, so I can't wait to see where this group of prospects will climb to by 2030. Honorable Mentions: - Ion Baraniewski - Mairon Santos - Ethyn Ewing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Photo Credits to Jeff Bottari via Zuffa LLC #10 Tommy McMillen Division Lightweight Age 28y, 239d UFC Record 2-0 Finishes 2 McMillen j

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/25/2026 Photo Credits to Brad Penner via Imagn Images 10. Milwaukee Bucks Brayden Burries, SG, Arizona (#10) Nate Ament, SF, Tennessee (#13) Malique Lewis, SF, NBL (#60) The 2026 offseason for the Milwaukee Bucks s obviously one of their biggest in Franchise history after trading away Giannis Antetokounmpo for a package that included players and picks including one of their 3 selections this week. Brayden Burries was drafted from their own pic

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/17/2026 Photo Credits to Hans Lucas via AFP via Getty images 1. Washington Wizards A.J. Dybantsa, SF, BYU 6'9" - 210 lbs Dybantsa is the no doubt, number 1 pick this year in the same way Cooper Flagg was last year. A tall and long player who can score from all three levels and has the athleticism to be a solid defender too, Dybantsa will definitely be the Wizards pick even if other players such as Peterson might be a slightly better fit. _ _

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

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 5/5/2026 Photo Credits to NBA via NBA.com staff When is the Draft Lottery? The NBA Draft Lottery will begin at 3:00 pm EST on Sunday, May 10th. The NBA Playoffs will be in full swing as Game 4 between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers will start just 30 minutes after Lottery coverage starts. With the NBA Draft's First Round set to start on June 23rd, the Lottery begins NBA Draft season. The Lottery will also be a prelude to the NBA Draf

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 4/27/2026 Photo by Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC Aljamain Sterling vs WINNER of Lopes vs Garcia Zak Drapeau - Aljo has now won 2 in a row and is likely one win away from being in line for a title shot. With Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia being another fight for a Top-5 billing at Featherweight on the White House card, this seems like a fitting opponent for the former champion at 135. With Evloev getting the likely next shot, it would be l

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 4/24/2026 Photo by Kirby Lee/ Imagn Imgaes via CNN 1. Fernando Mendoza - LV Grade: A- The right pick. Mendoza isn't the perfect QB prospect but he's very good and the best of the class. He'll be under no pressure to start until he's ready with Kirk Cousins on the roster and is already surrounded by Jeanty and Bowers. 2. David Bailey - NYJ Grade: A I had Bailey as the 2nd pick all along and a much better fit for the Jets than Reese so I love the

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 4/21/2026 Photo by Kirby Lee/ Imagn Images *Click For Final Top-150 Big Board *Click For Final Positional Rankings _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1. Fernando Mendoza QB Las Vegas Raiders The Raiders need a Quarterback and Mendoza is the easy pick. Mendoza will get to sit behind Cousins for a few games before taking the reigns and becoming their Franchise guy for the next decade. 2. Arvell Reese Edge New York Jets The Jets have been linked to Bailey a

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 4/21/2026 Photo by Simon Fearn/ Imagn Images Mike Malott vs LOSER Joaquin Buckley/Sean Brady Matt Hylen - Mike Malott looked fantastic in his first career UFC event. He was patient, but once he found his shot, it was over for Gilbert Burns. With Malott now in the top-15, I think a challenge is on the horizon for the Canadian native. With the loser of Joaquin Buckley and Sean Brady needing a fight down, I think it could make for a

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 4/8/2026 Graphic by NFL For the first time in the 2026 Draft season I will be putting out a Mock Draft with trades. This exercise helps with 2 things, the first being it gives everyone an idea of the most likely candidates to move picks when it comes to the First Round on April 24 and also shakes up the normal routine of draft picks we see selected just about at the same selection just about every time. I will probably make a separate list just

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 3/16/26 Photo by Chris Unger/ Getty images Kevin Vallejos vs Yair Rodriguez Zak Drapeau - Vallejos has shown me enough that he should be taken seriously and given a top fight, and Yair Rodriguez seemingly has nothing else going on. A step up to #3 may be a bit soon for the 23-year-old, but after dispatching Chikadze and Emmett in the fashion he did, I'm ready to get a better look at what this phenom can do against a higher-qualit

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 3/2/2026 Photo by Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC Lone'er Kavanaugh vs Brandon Royval The performance Lone'er Kavanaugh just put on in enemy territory is inspiring. To beat up a former champion and tough guy like Brandon Moreno was awesome to see and should earn him a Top-8 ranking among the Flyweights. For his next fight, I can see him fighting either Brandon Royval or Amir Albazi. With both men on two-fight skids, I'd normally side with

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen Sportz Nation - 2/23/2026 Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Sean Strickland vs Title Holder Matt - We all know Sean Strickland is good, but I don't think anyone expected him to look that good. Strickland may have looked better than he ever has before, completely shutting down a monster in Anthony Hernandez. With Strickland snapping Fluffy's 8-fight winning streak, big things should be on the horizon for him. A third fight against Dricus Du Plessi

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 2/11/2026 So with full disclosure I am not a Patriots fan and while this article's topic may seem absurd to some of you, It's worth exploring after his abysmal performance in not only Super Bowl LX but the entire 2026 Playoffs. Photo by Adam Hunger/ Associated Press Content Services for the NFL When asking if Maye is Overrated, one needs to first conclude how he is "rated" at the moment by most pundits and media alike. In short, Maye is closely

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