The Bloody Elbow staff has made its forecasts for Saturday’s UFC 221 card in Perth, Australia. Opinion is rather divided on who will win the primary event between Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero, which is fitting considering the 50-50 character of the one. Our thoughts are also divided on the co-main involving Mark Hunt and Curtis Blaydes. As for the rest of the principal card? Yeah… fully forgettable.
Note: Predictions are entered during the week and collected the day before the event. Explanations behind each pick aren’t required and some writers opt to not do this for their own motives. By way of instance, if Phil Mackenzie entered all of his predictions on Wednesday without incorporating in any excuses he has no idea if he is going to be the only one siding with one fighter for any specific fight.
Luke Rockhold vs. Yoel Romero
Anton Tabuena: Romero doesn’t have MMA wrestling that is on par with his qualifications, and if this goes to the floor, that will be Rockhold’s world. So this essentially boils down to Romero landing a bomb, or him worked by the more technical and complete fighter. Romero has power and that he can certainly put his lights out at any stage, but I just think Rockhold is the far superior MMA fighter in general. Unless Rockhold begins slow and gets sloppy, he should be able to control space, land those big kicks, and maybe finish this on the ground. Luke Rockhold by TKO.
Mookie Alexander: Selfishly, I want Rockhold to win since it’s just more interesting to see him against Robert Whittaker than Whittaker vs. Romero 2, a fight I believe Whittaker wins much more than that he did the very first time. Romero is not a man who completes people immediately, however, the mere fact that he’s so dangerous in the subsequent rounds presents another challenge for Luke. That said, I hope Rockhold’s cardio to maintain up at a five-rounder, he has a more diverse floor game than Romero (zero livelihood submission efforts ), and that I believe his kicks will be crucial to effecting Romero’s gas tank as the battle progresses. You always need to be worried about Romero’s KO power, as well as the potential for him to put Rockhold on his spine and deliver some punishment, but that I believe Rockhold gets the win in a tough, highly competitive contest. Luke Rockhold by unanimous conclusion.

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