Yanal Ashmouz

He says Salkilld 'wins this fight fairly comfortably', rating him competitive or better on the feet and 'the far better grappler' with no hedge on the outcome.

A good striker who closes distance behind heavy power shots, throws good volume, uses real head movement, and is rated a durable, tough fighter. His grappling is decent: he can get takedowns, strikes his way into a bodylock, and brings pretty good top pressure, backed by cardio to go a full fifteen minutes without fading.

stated explicitly: 'zero confidence'

Hits with pop and output, plus footwork the analyst was specifically impressed by in his most recent outing; very tough to hurt and closes ground well. Serviceable grappling -- his entries are nothing special, but he presses hard once he lands on top. The pick goes to him on the theory that judges will credit his grappling in what is expected to be a hard-to-score slugfest on the feet -- declared with zero confidence.

Admits he has flip-flopped on this one repeatedly, and separately tells viewers not to bet it and that he will just watch -- named winner plus an explicit stay-away caps at coinflip.

Ashmouz is a good, powerful-volume striker who closes distance well with somewhat looping shots, backed by decent wrestling, good top pressure and a strong gas tank. He is largely unproven at 7-0, but the analyst leans on his power to finish a fighter who has a history of getting dropped.

slightly leaning Patterson, bigger sample

Ashmoz is a jack-of-all-trades with real power in his hands, solid wrestling and top pressure, and cardio the analyst calls exceptional, able to keep working for a long time. Nothing in his game stands out as truly elite yet, which the analyst attributes partly to his young career and limited sample size. His best path is read as using his cardio to repeatedly ground Patterson and grind out control time, though doing so risks exposing his neck to Patterson's chokes.