Landon Quinones

He names Quinones as his winner, then immediately admits he hasn't settled on how confident he is or whether it's a play worth making -- a hedge on conviction itself, not just price.

Quinones self-corrects upward in one breath from decent to good striking, crediting a recent fight for revealing good forward pressure, very good leg and body kicks, and good boxing combinations he does not always chain together. He is a durable, good wrestler with very good takedowns plus a good, fantastic-at-times dirty-boxing cage push and excellent cardio. This is his UFC debut off a Contender Series run.

He states plainly 'you have to side with' Haqparast and repeats the same winner as his final call, reasoning that Haqparast's run against higher-level UFC competition makes him the better matchup against a fighter coming off a bad Contender Series showing. The only hedge is on the method ('I don't know for sure' about a decision), which does not demote a win-level grade per the confidence-bar rule.

A decent striker who presses forward with good boxing combinations and works the legs and body, though he rarely throws head kicks. His striking defense is a weak point that he offsets by being durable. The analyst calls him the better wrestler in this fight, with a strong double-leg takedown and the cardio to keep working it for three rounds, but still favors Haqparast because of the level of competition each man has faced.