UFC Vegas 95: Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac continues on the prelims with a fight in the heavyweight division between Jhonata Diniz and Karl Williams. Diniz was successful in his UFC debut with a 2nd round knockout meanwhile, Williams has won seven straight fights while winning all three of his fights inside the Octagon. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Diniz-Williams prediction and pick.

Jhonata Diniz (7-0) secured his contract on the Contender Series with a brutal first-round knockout victory. He then did one better in his UFC debut after running into some adversity in round one, he came back in round two searching Austen Lane for his 7th victory to remain unbeaten. Now, he gets to face off against his toughest competition to date when he takes on Karl Williams this weekend at the UFC Apex.

Karl Williams (10-1) was also a Contender Series alumni when he outwrestled D1 All-American wrestler Jimmy Lawson to a dominant decision. Williams has then done more of the same in his next three fights dominating the opposition to three consecutive victories to kickstart his UFC career. Williams gets to keep the good times rolling when he takes on dangerous kickboxer Jhonata Diniz this weekend to remain unbeaten in the UFC.

Here are the UFC Vegas 95 Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.

UFC Vegas 95 Odds: Jhonata Diniz-Karl Williams Odds

Jhonata Diniz: +170

Karl Williams: -205

Over 2.5 rounds: -115

Under 2.5 rounds: -115

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Why Jhonata Diniz Will Win

Jhonata Diniz got his chance to fight in the UFC with an appearance on the Contender Series where he knocked out Eduardo Neves in the first round. Diniz then made his UFC debut in April of this year but had to fight through adversity early when Austen Lane took him down and controlled him in round one. He then was able to come back to batter a visibly tired Lane in round two to get the knockout and remain unbeaten. Now, Diniz looks to keep his unbeaten streak intact when he faces off against Karl Williams this weekend.

Diniz is a high-level kickboxer who won numerous championships during his time as a kickboxer. He is still a work in progress when it comes to his MMA game as he is only seven fights into his professional career. Diniz showed that his takedown defense isn’t entirely there yet but his willingness to fight through the adversity and get back into the fight against Lane showed that he has the heart to overcome anything in the Octagon. Diniz must stay light on his feet, use his speed, and circle away from the cage to keep this fight standing and from there he will need to hammer the lead leg of Williams making it difficult for him to press forward and attempt takedowns. As long as Diniz can keep this fight on the feet he should land another highlight reel knockout on his resume.

Why Karl Williams Will Win

Karl Williams much like his opposition got his start on the Contender Series where he defeated highly touted prospect and D1 All-American wrestler Jimmy Lawson. Since his time on the Contender Series, Williams has won all three of his fights in the UFC where he most recently defeated Justin Tafa via unanimous decision. Now, Williams will be looking to extend his winning streak to eight in a row when he takes on Jhonata Diniz this weekend.

Williams doesn’t hide what his intentions are when he steps inside the Octagon. He is looking to take his opponents down and dominate them on the mat as early and as often as possible. Certainly his striking isn’t his strong suit by any stretch but it is serviceable just to get in the pocket to get ahold of his opponent and take them down. However, the longer this fight stays on the feet the more trouble he will be in. It will be up to Williams to avoid the power shots from Diniz and take him down and dominate him on the mat for the majority of this fight to get the nod on the judge’s scorecards.

Final Jhonata Diniz-Karl Williams Prediction & Pick

This should be a classic striker vs grappler matchup between these two heavyweight prospects. Diniz certainly will have the advantage on the feet while Williams will have a big advantage on the mat. Williams will be the hammer while Diniz will be the nail in this matchup seeing as how bad Diniz’s takedown defense was against Austen Lane there’s little chance his defense has gotten better in just four months. Ultimately, while things may get a bit dicey on the feet for Williams he eventually drags this fight to the mat every round and keeps Diniz there en route to another dominant decision victory.

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Final Jhonata Diniz-Karl Williams Prediction & Pick: Karl Williams (-225), Over 2.5 Rounds (-115)