UFC Vegas 84: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker kicks off the prelims with a fight in the flyweight division between Joshua Van and promotional newcomer Felipe Bunes. Van is riding a seven-fight winning streak as he comes into his third fight with the promotion meanwhile, Bunes is making his UFC debut winning three out of his last four fights. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Van-Bunes prediction and pick.
Joshua Van (9-1) was originally fought on last season’s Contender Series but a fighter withdrawing from a bout got him the short-notice call-up to fight Zhalgas Zhumagulov. He got past the veteran via split decision and did one better in his second fight in the octagon with a dominant unanimous decision victory against Kevin Borjas. This will be Van’s third fight in seven months as he looks to extend his winning streak to eight wins when he takes on promotional newcomer Felipe Bunes.
Felipe Bunes (13-6) captured the vacant LFA flyweight championship back in January 2023. He was then signed to the UFC but wasn’t able to make his scheduled debut against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in June due to a medical issue. He was originally scheduled to fight against Denys Bondar but he had to withdraw from the bout due to injury. Now, Bunes will finally be making his debut a year later when he finally steps inside the octagon inside the UFC Apex when he takes on surging flyweight Joshua Van.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Vegas 84 Odds: Joshua Van-Felipe Bunes Odds
Joshua Van: -258
Felipe Bunes: +210
Over 2.5 rounds: +120
Under 2.5 rounds: -150
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Why Joshua Van Will Win
Joshua Van burst onto the scene with a dominant victory over Cleveland McLean to capture the vacant Fury FC Flyweight Championship. That helped him get a chance on the Contender Series but once Zhalgas Zhumagulov needed a replacement last June after Felipe Bunes couldn’t compete he jumped at the opportunity. He is now 2-0 in the UFC and is looking for three wins with the promotion in less than a year.
Van is a sensational striker who can out-pace and out-strike even some of the best strikers in the flyweight division. The way that is he able to mix up his combinations from head to body and body to head is hard for most to keep up with. In his most recent fight against former Contender Series alumni Kevin Borjas, he threw 311 strikes and landed 156 of them over 15 minutes which is unheard of. Now, Van gets to take on promotional newcomer Felipe Bunes who likes to bang it out with the best of them which should provide a ton of fireworks. This is a fight in which Van could keep his winning streak intact as long as he keeps his composure and does what he does best and that is to outstrike and outpace Bunes for the entirety of the fight.
Why Felipe Bunes Will Win
Felipe Bunes got signed to the UFC after capturing the vacant LFA Flyweight Championship by knocking out Yuuma Horiuchi in the first round. He was originally scheduled to fight against Zhalgas Zhumagulov but ultimately had to withdraw due to not being medically cleared to fight. Bunes now gets to make his long-awaited UFC debut seven months later.
While Bunes had a vicious knockout in his most recent fight back in January 2023, he does his best work on the mat with eight of his 13 wins coming by submission. He is also very tricky when he does get the opportunity to snatch a limb as he even has a flying triangle armbar submission victory over former TUF contestant Yoni Sherbatov. Bunes also is no slouch on his feet and is willing to go to war with his opponents having the durability to hang in there with the best. If Bunes can make Van work and eventually take him down that could notch him his first UFC victory.
Final Joshua Van-Felipe Bunes Prediction & Pick
This should be a great scrap to open the prelims in the flyweight division. Joshua Van has looked exceptional in just a short amount of time in the UFC and he gets a tough opponent to prove to the fans and the fighters in the division that he’s one of the top prospects. Meanwhile, Bunes is on the older side for a debuting fighter at 34 years old but he’s got a ton of experience in combat sports which gives him a leg up in this matchup even with this fight being his debut. This fight should be a classic grappler vs. striker matchup where Van should have the advantage the longer the fight stays on the feet but if the fight hits the man the third-degree black belt Bunes will be in his world.
Ultimately, Van has shown the ability to defend takedowns well and get back to his feet so as long as he stuffs the initial takedowns and doesn’t let Bunes latch onto a limb like he’s done multiple times he should have no problem piecing Bunes up at range to either a late finish or decision victory.
Final Joshua Van-Felipe Bunes Prediction & Pick: Joshua Van (-258), Over 2.5 Rounds (+120)
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