UFC Vgeas 80: Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green continues on the prelims with a fight in the bantamweight division between Aoriqileng and Johnny Munoz. Aoriqileng is coming off a surprising knockout loss in his most recent fight meanwhile, Munoz dropped a decision as he comes into this fight this weekend. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Aoriqileng-Munoz prediction and pick.
Aoriqileng (24-11) has made the most of his move up in weight to the bantamweight division winning his first two bouts until he met his match against Aiemann Zahabi who knocked him out in just a little over one minute in the first round. Of his 24 victories, nine of them have come by knockout. He will look to get back into the win column this weekend when he takes on Johnny Munoz at UFC Vegas 80.
Johnny Munoz (12-3) is just 1-2 in his last three fights, most recently getting defeated by Daniel Santos at the UFC Apex. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion that has seven wins by submission out of his 12 professional victories. He will look to make that submission victory number eight when he throws down with Aoriqileng this Saturday night.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Vegas 80 Odds: Aoriqileng-Johnny Munoz Odds
Aoriqileng: -108
Johnny Munoz: -112
Over 2.5 Rounds: -110
Under 2.5 Rounds: -120
How to Watch Aoriqileng vs. Johnny Munoz
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT (Prelims)
Why Aoriqileng Will Win
Aoriqileng is coming off a very surprising knockout loss to Aiemann Zahabi in his most recent fight. He just wasn't able to get going and was caught very early into round one. The former UFC flyweight is now 2-1 in his new weight class in the bantamweight division which is deceiving on paper because both of his wins are against fighters who have been released by the UFC shortly after he fought them.
He gets to take on Johnny Munoz who is also in need of a big win coming into this weekend's matchup. He is a grappler by trade and does his best work on the mat who is also very hittable on the feet. That bodes well for Aoriqileng who's a powerful striker who can put his opponent's lights out with just one punch. As long as Aoriqileng can keep this fight on the feet he has a chance to get back into the win column in a big way.
Why Johnny Munoz Will Win
Johnny Munoz came up short in his last fight against Daniel Santos where he was just outworked for the majority of the fight as he wasn't able to get his grappling game going. Munoz is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and world champion but it hasn't translated well on the biggest stage however, he does have eight submission victories in his professional career.
Aoriqileng has just a one-track mind and that is to come forward, push the pace, and land heavy powerful shots in which he certainly will land on Munoz in this fight but he is susceptible to being taken down. Even in his win against Jay Perrin he was taken down three times and was controlled for 5:59 of a 15-minute fight. That should give Munoz some confidence heading into this fight that if he attempts the takedowns he should be able to land them and keep Aoriqileng on the mat for extended periods of time to either find the submission or ride out a decision victory.
Final Aoriqileng-Johnny Munoz Prediction & Pick
This should be a very interesting fight between these two bantamweights. This is going to come down to who will be able to implement their gameplan the best and that is whether Aoriqileng can keep this on the feet and at range and if Munoz can get Aoriqileng to the mat and dominate him there. While Aoriqileng is the much better striker who's got a ton of power his grappling against someone like Perrin, who was submitted in less than three minutes in his next fight, was just not good which is very worrisome against arguably the best grappler he's faced thus far coming into this matchup.
Ultimately, Aoriqileng is going to attempt to do what he does best and that is pressure forward and keep Munoz on his back foot landing heavy shots in the process but it will only take one takedown attempt from Munoz that could change the landscape of every round and that is the difference maker here as Munoz will land the takedowns and top control that he needs to cruise to a much-needed victory.
Final Aoriqileng -Johnny Munoz Prediction & Pick: Johnny Munoz (-112), Over 2.5 Rounds (-110)
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