Contender Series Week 4: Mitch Ramirez vs. Carlos Prates continues with a fight in the featherweight division between Timothy Cuamba and Mateo Vogel. Cuambo is coming off three consecutive wins meanwhile, Vogel is coming off three-straight victories into his Contender Series debut. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Cuamba-Vogel prediction and pick.

Timothy Cuamba (6-1) has won five of his six professional fights with three of those wins coming by knockout. He also did some professional boxing during his time as a professional MMA fighter winning that boxing match by first-round knockout. Cuamba is a heavy-handed striker who will be looking to knock out his toughest competition to date in Mateo Vogel to get his coveted UFC contract on this week's episode of the Contender Series.

Mateo Vogel (8-2) comes into his shot on the Contender Series winning three straight and five out of his last six with his lone loss being a unanimous decision loss to current UFC bantamweight Da'Mon Blackshear. He is the reigning and defending BFL Featherweight champion and he will be looking to build off of his 4-0 featherweight record when he takes on Timothy Cuamba in hopes of securing a UFC contract.

Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

Contender Series Week 4 Odds: Timothy Cuamba-Mateo Vogel Odds

Timothy Cuamba: +130

Mateo Vogel: -166

How to Watch Timothy Cuamba vs. Mateo Vogel

TV: ESPN+

Stream: ESPN+

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT

Why Timothy Cuamba Will Win

Timothy Cuamba comes into his first appearance on the Contender Series on a three-fight winning streak with two of those three wins coming by knockout and TKO. Cuamba is a striker by trade as he even fought a professional boxing match which he won by first-round knockout. He will be taking on his toughest competition to date when he takes on Canadian, Mateo Vogel.

Vogel is a submission specialist who will be looking to take Cuamba down and control him on the mat, so it will be up to Cuamba to do what he can to avoid the grappling exchanges of Vogel. He has been submitted in his only lone loss as a professional so if it does hit the mat he could be in some trouble with that said, Cuamba has shown improvements since that fight and he has the striking advantage on the feet that it will not be easy for Vogel to get this fight to the ground. If Cuamba can sprawl and brawl he can get the win and possibly get his UFC contract.

Why Mateo Vogel Will Win

Mateo Vogel has spent most of his time on the Canadian regional scene as he was the former BFL featherweight champion before getting the call to fight on the Contender Series. He has fought some decent competition on the regional scene going 1-1 against UFC-level competition, beating Garrett Armfield by submission but losing to Da'Mon Blackshear by unanimous decision.

Since that loss to Blackshear, he has gone 3-0 with his two most recent wins coming back finish. Vogel does his best work on the mat with heavy top pressure and a slick submission game. While he is sufficient on the feet, he certainly will not be the better striker in this matchup. If he can't get this fight to the mat things will certainly get dicey for him on the feet, so this fight will be predicated on whether or not Vogel will be able to get this fight to the mat. If he is able to get Cuamba down, he should surpass his moneyline price, get the submission, and the UFC contract.

Final Timothy Cuamba-Mateo Vogel Prediction & Pick

This is a classic striker vs grappler matchup between Timothy Cuamba and Mateo Vogel. On paper, Vogel should be able to take down Cuamba and submit just based on who Vogel has beaten and submitted and that Cuamba has been submitted in his career but we all know MMA math doesn't work well when it comes to predicting fights. Through the first three weeks of the season, there has only been one grappler who was able to dominate their opponent on the mat and get the finish and that was Eduarda Moura.

Fighters who looked to grapple like Emrah Sonmez, Victor Dias, Lucas Fernando, and Robbie Ring weren't able to keep up with the pace and ultimately were all dominated by strikers. This could be another instance where Vogel may look dominant on the mat in round one but then fade thereafter. Ultimately, Vogel will land the takedown in round one and dominate in that first round only to fade as the fight goes on where Cuamba will then take over and finish him late.

Final Timothy Cuamba-Mateo Vogel Prediction & Pick: Timothy Cuamba (+130)