UFC on ESPN 43 Predictions: Full Card Analysis, Betting Odds and Picks

Bantamweight mixed martial artist Marlon Vera will take on Cory Sandhagen in the main event of the UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio. But besides the main event which will be absolutely incredible, the fight card is stacked with massive bouts between former champions, contenders, and future stars in Mixed Martial Arts. Here are our UFC on ESPN 43: Vera vs Sandhagen full card predictions.

UFC on ESPN 43: Vera vs Sandhagen Full Card Predictions

CJ Vergara vs Daniel Lacerda

CJ Vergara Preview

CJ is a wrestler but prefers to fight on the stand. He compensates for the lack of a technical base with impressive knockout power. 6 out of 10 victories he won by knockouts. I will note a good wrestling base at Vergara. He qualitatively controls his opponents in the clinch and on the ground, due to which he not only scores points, but also exhausts his opponents.

Vergara has bad cardio. He gets tired by the middle of the fight. Therefore, if CJ fails to finish the opponent quickly, he either loses on points or wins by close decisions.

Daniel Lacerda Preview

Daniel stands out for his versatility and physical strength. In the standing position, he inflicts crushing blows on different floors to the opponent and aims for the finish line. On the ground, the fighter relies on BJJ skills and effectively performs submissions. All of Daniel's victories are early.

Lacerda has cardio drawdowns. Trying to finish the opponent quickly, Daniel swings hard and gets tired quickly. It also has a lot of security holes. The Brazilian rushes at an opponent with an open jaw, which is why at any moment he can miss a knockout blow.

Vergara vs Lacerda Prediction

Daniel Da Silva seems to have exhausted his margin of safety. His selfless love for notches led to the fact that the fighter falls almost from the first accurate hit. Vergara has enough physical power to shock the Brazilian, knock him down and finish him on the ground. Most likely, Daniel will again fly into the attack with an open jaw, run into a tight American punch and get knocked out.

Chidi Njokuani vs Albert Duraev

Chidi Njokuani Preview

Njokuani is a longtime MMA and former professional kickboxer who made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2007. Since then, he has been touring for various promotions such as Bellator MMA, RFA, Tachi Palace Fights and Legacy FC. His professional record in MMA is 22-8, in kickboxing 12-1-1. Chidi made his UFC debut in 2022, but given his talent and ability to finish opponents on his feet, he could have joined the organization much earlier.

He debuted in the UFC with two wins, impressive, quick knockouts, and although he lost to Gregory Rodriguez in the last fight, the athletes staged a real cage war, where Njokuani was a few blows away from victory. Chidi is a top-notch striker with 14 knockout wins. On average, he throws 4.28 significant punches per minute, with an accuracy of 72%.

Albert Duraev Preview

Duraev was born and lives in Grozny. Like Chidi, he is 34 years old. Albert is a former Russian sambo champion, winner of the World Cup in combat sambo, and also has grappling awards. His professional record is 15-4 and has been a pro since 2011. Duraev is aggressive in the cage and a physically strong fighter. He will swing heavy hooks and look for high-paced takedowns that really often demoralize inexperienced opponents. On average, he throws 2.91 significant punches per minute with 43% accuracy, misses 2.46, and has a 21% takedown success rate.

Njokuani vs Duraev Prediction

We are waiting for the classic confrontation between the basic drummer and the wrestler. Albert Duraev always has the same game plan for a fight, you can easily prepare for it. Njokuani has a non-standard technique in the stance, which takes time to get used to, so he always starts powerfully and has in his arsenal a lot of tools for an early knockout, in addition, Chidi has huge dimensions, with a height of 191 cm, his arm span is 203 cm. All four defeats in Duraev's career were knockouts.

Alex Perez vs Manel Kape

Alex Perez Preview

Alex Perez is ranked sixth in the flyweight division. The 31-year-old American masters the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is also an excellent wrestler and wrestler. Perez fought Dana White's first league fight in December 2017, defeating Filipino Carlos John de Tomas (submission). However, Alex was defeated in the last two fights, losing to the Brazilians Deiveson Figueredo and Alejandro Pantozhe. In total, the American has 24 wins (five by knockout) and seven losses (one by knockout) in MMA.

Manel Kape Preview

Manel Kape is ninth in the division rankings. The fighter from Angola has 16 wins (ten by knockout) and six losses. The 29-year-old African has won three of his last fights. Kape defeated American Audie Osborne (knockout), Zhalgas Zhumagulov from Kazakhstan (technical knockout) and Czech David Dvorak (unanimous decision).

Perez vs Kape Prediction

Analysts of bookmakers consider Keipe the clear favorite of the upcoming fight. It's hard to argue with them. It can be seen that recently the Anglo has gained a powerful move and now hardly anyone can stop him. Perez is unlikely to be able to cope with the killing blows of Manel. Starboy has to finish the American.

Nate Landwehr vs Austin Lingo

Nate Landwehr Preview

Nate Landwehr is a former M-1 Global Featherweight Champion. The 34-year-old American made his UFC debut on January 25, 2020 with a loss to Herbert Burns from Brazil. However, The Train won two victories in the last bouts. A fighter from Tennessee defeated Slovenian Ludovit Klein (submission) and American David Onam (unanimous decision). Landwehr has 16 wins (eight by knockout) and four losses (two by knockout).

Austin Lingo Preview

Austin Lingo had three fights in the strongest MMA league on the planet. In his debut, the 26-year-old American was defeated by his compatriot Youssef Zalal (unanimously). However, then he was able to win two victories in a row. The Americans Jacob Kilburn and Luis Saldana were defeated. Lingo has nine wins (four by knockout) and one loss.

Landwehr vs Lingo Prediction

Bookmaker analysts consider Landwehr the clear favorite of the upcoming fight. You can argue with them. Both fighters are generally equal in strength. Any of them can win. But the fight itself is unlikely to end ahead of schedule. The fighters combined have ten wins by the decision of the judges.

UFC on ESPN 43 Co-Main Event: Holly Holm vs Yana Santos

Holly Holm Preview

Fans fell in love with Holly after her phenomenal win over dominant champion Ronda Rousey in 2015. It seemed that Holm would defend her title for a long time and would give a fight to any top athlete on the roster. But that success turned out to be a classic ephemeral lucky fight. Since then, Holly has tried twice more to snatch the title, but both times to no avail.

The fight with Santos will be critically difficult due to the pace that Yana picks up from the very first seconds. Of course, Holly can also explode and go forward, but she is unlikely to have enough strength for constant answers.

Its advantage is stamina and impact power. But it is not yet clear what Holm will do with his main problem – frequent stagnation in the stance and periodic lack of ideas.

Yana Santos Preview

Sometimes it seems that Santos does not have enough dimensions to perform in the current division. She has an excellent punch, but the power of these punches began to fail her.

In the fight against Holly, Yana will focus on low kicks, which will slow down the already not the most mobile athlete even more. Next, front kicks, chopping ax kicks and jabs will come into play.

If the fight goes to the ground, the advantage will definitely be on the side of the Russian woman. She spends much less energy on the fight and is able to turn the fight in her direction with lightning speed, entering the attacking jitter positions.

Holm vs Santos Prediction

Bookmaker analysts consider Holm to be the clear favorite for the upcoming fight. They should be argued with. There is no doubt about the experience of the American, but her age can prevent her from achieving success. Santos is eight years younger than her future rival but has also been involved in mixed martial arts for quite some time. We see them as completely equal right now and this bout should last the entire distance. Either fighter could win via decision here.