After a few weeks off from any UFC action we have a string of events coming up, while there are some great fights on the horizon we are eased back into things with UFC 224. It's not the greatest UFC event ever but has a decent co-main event as well as a few potentially cool fights on the under card.

Colby Covington against Dos Anjos was supposed to be on the card however after all the Mcgregor stuff pre-UFC 223 the decision was made to switch that fight to take place in Chicago and avoid any more potential chaos outside the cage.

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WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT

Amanda Nunes Vs Raquel Pennington

There had been talk of Nunes fighting Cyborg in a super fight between the 2 Brazilian champions however I feel like Amanda didn't have as much hype following her latest split decision victory. And they felt they needed to build her up with a few more spectacular victories first and that's exactly what this fight feels like to me. Pennington isn't an unworthy contender by any means but I don't think she is on the same level as the champion and cannot see her claiming the belt this weekend.

Nunes is 5'5 but packs a lot of power of her 15 victories she has won 10 via knockout, has 3 submissions and 2 decisions. She has 4 losses including a submission defeat in her very first fight, a decision loss and then she has been knocked out herself twice.

Her fights don't tend to last long, of her victories only 2 fights have went beyond round 2 and both of those were the decision victories against Valentina Shevchenko. She picked up the title by absolutely destroying Miesha Tate before choking her out and has defended it twice with a 1 round knockout of Ronda Rousey then going all 5 rounds with Shevchenko in her latest.

Pennington has 9 wins with 5 losses. In contrast to Nunes the majority of her fights tend to go the distance with 5 of her wins coming from the judges scorecards and 4 of her defeats. She has just 1 knockout in her first fight and 3 submission victories. She has never suffered a knockout loss and her only loss not to go the distance was a 2nd round submission loss to Cat Zingano.

She is riding a 4 fight win streak currently, after a close split decision loss to Holly Holm she had a great fight in against Jessica Andrade and avenged a loss with a 2nd round submission win then went on to pick up decision victories over Bethe Correia, Elizabeth Phillips and Miesha Tate.

I can really only see this going one way. Her nickname is Rocky but I can't see the underdog shocking the champ in this one. The victory over Miesha is an impressive one to have but it was a Miesha that had taking a beating from Nunes and who was on her way out. I feel for Nunes this is a build up to the bigger fight with Cyborg, I don't think Pennington is as much as a threat as Shevchenko was so Nunes won't be as wary of exchanging and should give Pennington her first knockout loss.

Prediction - Nunes Win - Knockout - Round 1

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Jacare Souza Vs Kelvin Gastelum

The legend that is Jacare is back and he is fighting Gastelum in what for me is the most interesting fight on the card. Both fighters enter the contest on the back of impressive 1st round knockout victories and there can be a case made for either to win.

Jacare responded to getting knocked out by Robert Whittaker by making short work of Derek Brunson in January, landing a head kick and then finishing him with punches. He has 25 wins with 5 losses. 7 wins via knockout, 14 via submission and 4 decisions. He's never been submitted but does have 2 decision losses as well as 3 knockouts.

Kelvin should really be a welterweight however he has major issues in making the weight and so fights at middleweight. After impressive victories over Kennedy and Belfort (which was later turned to a no contest) it seemed like the move up had actually benefited him. He then took on Chris Weidman and while he did have some success striking, the size advantage Weidman had was clear and he submitted Kelvin in the 3rd round. His latest victory was against former champion Michael Bisping however there were plenty of concerns for Bisping stepping into that fight on short notice after only recently been dropped by GSP when losing the belt.

Jacare is dangerous on his feet with his striking and kicks but Gastelum has an advantage when it comes to striking, however this may be another fight similar to when he fought Weidman where the fact he should really be fighting at welterweight is again exposed. Jacare isn't the greatest at take downs but he does tend to get at least one, and that could be all he needs. He's managed to take down Robert Whittaker and even Yoel Romero in the past so he can definitely take down Kelvin and one the ground I can see him having plenty of success.

Prediction - Jacare Win - Submission - Round 2

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Mackenzie Dern Vs Amanda Cooper

This fight seems like a set up to me. By no means do I think it's fixed or anything untoward is going on however it's obvious the UFC would love for Dern to become a star. She did not look great in her UFC debut at UFC 222 and I feel they've done all they can to try and give her a bump here.

Dern is a highly decorated BJJ practitioner with numerous medals and awards. She came into MMA with much hype due to her BJJ success and is undefeated with 6 victories, 3 via decision and 3 via submission.

Cooper has 3 victories and 3 losses. Her victories are spread evenly with 1 decision, submission and knockout each while all 3 of her losses have came via submission. She's fought 4 times in the UFC, both her losses for the company were 1st round submission losses. She did win her latest fight via 2nd round knockout however it was against the equally unconvincing Angela Magana.

As I said earlier I cannot help but feel this fight has been set up by the UFC. The talented BJJ fighter they'd love to promote as the new face of women's mma up against a fighter who doesn't posses much striking threat, engages in grappling often and has shown a tendency to be caught in submissions. If Dern fails this one I can see the UFC giving up on her.

Prediction - Dern Win - Submission - round 2

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John Lineker Vs Brian Kelleher

Lineker has 30 victories and 8 losses. He's won 13 fights via knockout, 4 by submission, has 12 decisions and also won 1 fight via DQ due to punches after the bell. His 8 losses have came mainly via decision with 5 and he has 3 submission losses.

Kelleher has 19 wins and 8 losses. With 7 victories via knockout, 8 submission wins and 4 decisions. Like Lineker he has never been knocked out with 5 losses coming via submission and then 3 via decision.

It's an intriguing fight with both fighters on good runs, Kelleher has only lost 1 from his last 10 fights when he was submitted by Marlon Vera last year. While Lineker was on a good win streak until running into TJ Dillashaw and losing via decision, he responded to that by picking up a decision victory of his own against Marlon Vera.

I definitely feel like Lineker has the edge in this one. If you look at the caliber of opposition he's fought and defeated it dwarfs the standard faced by Kelleher. And I can actually see him handing out Kelleher's first ever defeat via knockout.

Prediction - Lineker Win - Knockout - round 2

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Vitor Belfort Vs Lyoto Machida

In honour of the local Brazilian fans the UFC has rolled out 2 legends and former champions to kick the card off. Both guys were absolute beasts in their day but at 41 and 39 their best days are behind them.

Belfort has a record of 26 wins, 13 losses and a no contest in a career which goes way back to 1996! He has 18 knockout wins, 3 submissions and 5 decision victories. He's lost 5 decisions, been submitted twice as well as been knocked out 6 times. The no contest on his record was another knockout loss against Kelvin Gastelum but it was overturned after Kelvin had smoked weed.

He is coming into this off the back of a victory over Nate Marquardt but was having a tough few years prior to that suffering a few knockouts against Kelvin, Mousassi and Jacare.

Machida's record is 23 and 8, he has 12 decision victories, 9 knockouts and 2 submission wins. His 8 defeats are split fairly evenly with 2 submission losses and then 3 knockout and decision losses each.

Similarly to Vitor he's also coming in on the back of a decision victory over Eryk Anders and that ended a run of 3 defeats in which he was finished in all 3.

In their primes both guys were up there with the most dangerous men on the planet however this one comes down to who's got the most left in their tanks with both suffering quite grueling punishment in recent years. Neither is as fast or as dangerous as they once were and I can see this being a rather tame contest with both fighters happy to have one last blowout in Brazil and unlikely to take a risk leaving them open to get hurt too badly.

Prediction - Machida Win - Decision