Mana Martinez vs Brandon Davis Prediction: Fight will end under fifteen minutes

The prelims of UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs Araujo serves up a tasty and feisty Bantamweight battle between two American alumni of the Dana White’s Contender Series. Mana Martinez will be taking his third fight in the UFC while for Brandon Davis it will be his second fight after a return to the elite promotion. Mana Martinez is a highly technical boxer who rarely puts a foot wrong in the cage. Davis is an all-rounder who can strike as well as wrestle. He comes into his battle healthy for the first time in years after finally fixing his bad ACL.

The 26-year-old Texan is a knockout specialist. He has eight knockouts from nine professional fights. A thoroughbred boxer, ‘Manaboi’ functions best when he is allowed to dictate the pace with his jab followed by his combinations and accurate footwork. Against fellow strikers he is efficient and will eventually find his range. Against wrestlers and grapplers, he struggles regularly. Although he can defend himself on the mat with some basic jiu-jitsu, he prefers to corner fighters on his feet, cutting them off from the cage and delivering his knockouts with his awesome power. Interestingly, his two fights in the UFC has gone to decisions against the grain of his previous eight knockouts from nine fights in regional promotions. 

The 32-year-old Atalanta native is back in the UFC after being cut in 2019 following a loss to then unknown Giga Chikadze. An excellent run in a regional promotion, including capturing the Bantamweight championship has led to the return of Davis to the elite. ‘Killer B’ is an all-rounder: a boxer, and grappler with the cardio to back-up his efforts. However, somehow, those skills and endurance haven’t materialized into any sort of consistency. He started his second tour of the UFC with a loss to Danaa Batgerel in October 2021. Although it must be said that Davis had been fighting with a torn ACL in several of his last bouts. Now he returns to the Octagon healthy after finally earning enough money to have surgery. His back story is a favorite of the fans and the crowd will be rooting for him in this battle. 

It’s obvious to see why the sportsbooks have gone with Martinez as the favorite. He is younger and the more reliable fighter. Davis has exhibited inconsistencies throughout his UFC career, even though he has the skills to be a stronger force. He seems to fall into the rut of engaging according to the strength of his foes. However, he comes into this bout stronger and healthier than in previous years. Added to the fact that Martinez’s last two fights in the promotion have been decided by the judges one can see why the rounds betting is offering some pricey markets. We think Martinez will end this fight inside fifteen minutes given his KO history. And so we go for under 2.5 rounds.

• Under 2.5 rounds at 2.00 odds on BetKing
• W1 at 1.62 odds on Bet 365
• Decision W1 at 2.93 odds on 1Xbet