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Contender Series Week 3: Andrey Pulyaev vs. Liam Anderson kicks off with a fight in the flyweight division between Jack Duffy and Nick Piccininni. Duffy comes into his first stint on the Contender Series undefeated winning all seven of his pro fights meanwhile, Piccininni steps in to fight on just a couple weeks notice undefeated with wins in all six of his pro fights. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Duffy-Piccininni prediction and pick.
Jack Duffy (7-0) is coming off a unanimous decision victory back in January fighting for Urijah Faber A1 Combat to remain unbeaten at 7-0. Duffy was originally scheduled to face off against both Mitch Raposo and Jose Ochoa but both got signed to the UFC and rebooked. Now, Duffy will take on wrestling standout Nick Piccininni who's stepping in on short notice this Tuesday night.
Nick Piccininni (6-0) comes into this fight as the most decorated wrestler the flyweight division has ever seen since Henry Cejudo made his debut. The Fortis MMA fighter is undefeated winning all six of his bouts and will be putting that unbeaten record on the line for a shot at securing a contract in the UFC when he takes on fellow unbeaten Jack Duffy on this week's episode of the Contender Series.
Here are the Contender Series UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Contender Series Odds: Jack Duffy-Nick Piccininni Odds
Jack Duffy: +230
Nick Piccininni: -315
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Why Jack Duffy Will Win
Jack Duffy will now be the third fighter from Urijah Faber A1 Combat to compete on the Contender Series in as many weeks. As of right now, A1 Combat fighters are 0-2 on the show and Duffy is looking to buck that trend when she steps inside the Octagon on Tuesday night when he takes on fellow undefeated prospect Nick Piccininni in hopes of securing his UFC contract.
Duffy is a 28-year-old prospect who has won all seven of his professional bouts with six of those wins coming inside the distance. He is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt that loves to take his opponents to the mat and dominate them from there. While his striking is a work in progress, he still does a good job at maintaining distance with his kicks until he's able to get within range to drop down for a double-leg takedown. Once Duffy takes his opponent to the mat, he is always looking to take the back where he is most dominant and from there he rains down some ground and pound until he sinks in the rear-naked choke.
In this matchup, Duffy's grappling will play a vital role in this fight as he is facing off against a decorated wrestler in Nick Piccininni. It may be tough to take this fight to the canvas for Duffy so he is going to need to utilize sweeps and reversals in scrambles to gain top position and work his dominance from there. As long as Duffy can make Piccininni work on the feet and on the mat, he could potentially catch his neck or a limb in the scrambles to notch the victory and secure his UFC contract.
Why Nick Piccininni Will Win
Nick Piccininni is taking this fight on just a couple of weeks' notice after Jack Duffy's original opponent Jose Ochoa was signed to the promotional and already scheduled for a fight in the coming months. This opened up the opportunity for Piccininni to shine after coming off a 4th-round finish just two months ago for Fury FC. Now, Piccininni will look to make the most out of this short-notice opportunity when he takes on Jack Duffy this Tuesday night.
Piccininni is one of the most decorated wrestlers to ever compete in the flyweight division next to of course the Olympian Henry Cejudo. Piccininni is a former 3-time Division-1 All-American and 4-time Big 12 Champion wrestling out of Oklahoma State University where many great MMA fighters have wrestled like former champions Randy Couture, Daniel Cormier, and Johny Hendricks. Also before making his move to Fortis MMA, Piccininni used to train under Daniel Cormier at AKA.
Obviously being a wrestler, Piccininni does his best work when he's utilizing his wrestling top pressure to ground and pound his opponents until they give up position for the submission where he has racked up 5 submissions in his 6 wins. In this matchup against Duffy, we should see a ton of high-level scrambling between these two but it will be top pressure of Piccininni that will be the difference maker in this fight and as long as he stays safe on the mat he should land heavy ground and pound until he gets the finish and the UFC contract.
Final Jack Duffy-Nick Piccininni Prediction & Pick
This is yet another fantastic matchup to kick start this week's Contender Series when Jack Duffy and Nick Piccininni battle it out for a UFC contract. Ultimately, the heavy strikes and wrestling from Picininni will be too much for Duffy who's not used to being the nail instead of the hammer, and as long as Piccininni doesn't get caught in a scramble he should be the one dominating the action to get the win with the potential chance at a UFC contract.
Final Jack Duffy-Nick Piccininni Prediction & Pick: Nick Piccininni (-315)
