The Bloody Elbow team has submitted its forecasts for UFC 231, and while everyone who wrote something up picked Max Holloway over Brian Ortega, overall opinion is fairly divided. In terms of the co-main occasion, again things are split as to who’ll prevail between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valentina Shevchenko. It is excellent to have toss-up title fights such as these two, isn’t it?

Note: Predictions are entered throughout the week and gathered the day prior to the event. Explanations behind every choice are not required and a few authors opt to not do so for their own motives. For example, if Phil Mackenzie entered all his predictions on Wednesday without adding in any explanationshe has no idea if he is going to be the only one siding with a single fighter for any specific fight.

Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega

Anton Tabuena: This is fairly simple to me. With any bizarre health issues, Max Holloway should fully run via Ortega here. Holloway is just much better and a lot more dangerous than the rest of the folks Ortega has defeated. That is obviously still MMA and Ortega has proven that he has decent power, but he certainly won’t pick apart someone as technically proficient as Holloway. I believe this will seem a lot like Ortega’s past bouts, but he’ll take a much worse beating and won’t be able to secure that magic comeback. Max Holloway by TKO.

Mookie Alexander: There’s a degree of unsustainability to Ortega’s love of finishing battles over winning rounds, and Holloway is a masterful round winner. I’m obviously assuming we are getting the ideal edition of Max Holloway, therefore that’s the key here. Ortega has increased tremendously as a striker, but until this point, Holloway has shown a ridiculous chin and he’s probably not the person you want to take part in a high-paced brawl with. Ortega loves the leaping guillotine, I suspect Holloway is going to be ready for this, and he’s a damn great grappler in his very own right. Takedowns are improbable on both sides, and Ortega specifically has shown himself to be not especially great at shooting down his opponents in the first place. While Ortega is very dangerous predicated on what we’ve seen out of him lately conflicts, I trust Holloway to do more damage and avoid the classic Ortega comeback. Max Holloway by unanimous decision.

Zane Simon: Ortega’s fight against Frankie Edgar was something of a sin. He has always been always been dangerous, but that was the first time that his striking style – built around a lot slicker moves and frequently a lack of fundamental ones – has looked like a whole game. He worked behind the jab, feinted, drew out predictable answers and changed up his entries to club Frankie to unconsciousness. It was damn pretty. Additionally, it means that it is difficult to say just how much more improved Ortega could be now. Without seeing more variety and consistency to his game, and without seeing an ability to maintain output over multiple hard striking rounds, I have to pick Holloway. His ability to push a pace then to up that rate as his competitors tire, his ability to change targets in combination and start up new mixtures off earlier, simpler ones, just aren’t skills that Ortega has revealed yet. And Ortega still has a history of dropping rounds that he has not completed the struggle in. Even with Max’s health scare, the majority of the questions are on Ortega’s side and most of the answers are on Holloway’s. Max Holloway by decision.

Victor Rodriguez: Neither man will be looking to take down the other, and Holloway’s clinch match is lethal. Having said that, Ortega’s been a man I have counted out in a lot of fights, I just feel dumb picking him against him. He ought to have a range drawback and Max’s frenetic pace should make this difficult for him due to quantity, but Ortega does not get hit that far and seems to keep finding ways to pull a bunny from his hat. I still want to pick Ortega by diving for a flying armbar from a clinch situation, but that’s a small reckless for me personally. And while I’m still worried about the fact that we don’t know what health issues Holloway had time, it seems that the guy that wears damage well and has a more complete and composed approach to his strikes should have the ability to take over as the battle goes on and employ pressure so. Max Holloway by decision.

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