Stewart Nicoll

framed as "up against it in this" fight

A decent striker with a good leg kick who strikes mainly to close distance into his grappling, where his real path lies. His spinning attacks are described as a fallback used when the rest of his offense is not working, and his striking defense is not his strength. On the mat he is a good grappler who can chain takedowns, has good mount returns, is a good back taker, lands ground and pound volume, controls well and likes to lace the legs. The analyst frames the matchup itself as a sign the UFC is done with him after a three-fight skid.

expects a finish on the feet

As of 2026-03-29, a decent striker who is not strong defensively, using his offense (including a good leg kick) mainly to close distance into his grappling. His grappling is the centerpiece: he chains takedowns, repeats mat returns, and works a leg-lace-into-ground-and-pound process toward taking the back, where he is rated a good back-taker.

He builds the case that Nicoll's control game plan gets it done, then is asked directly whether he 'feel[s] confident in that' knowing Nicoll's striking is poor and the fight starts standing -- and answers no.

Decent striker who uses a good leg kick to close distance, but his striking defense is poor and shots land on him freely, so his path depends on getting the fight down quickly. Solid grappler -- probably the better grappler of the two -- able to chain takedowns, with strong mount returns, good control (including a leg-lacing technique), ground-and-pound volume and back takes.

His knee-jerk reaction favored Aguilar; he settles on Nicoll but admits his conviction here sits well below what the odds imply, given Nicoll is debuting far from home.

Undefeated, UFC-debuting grappler built around top control. He chains takedowns, gets good mat returns, ties opponents up with a leg lace, and works to the back for ground-and-pound volume. His striking exists mainly to close distance into the grappling rather than as a standalone weapon, and he is wide open to anything coming straight down the middle.