UFC Fight Night: Cerrone Vs. Gaethje Predictions

UFC 242 might've had the two top lightweights in the world duking it out for the gold, but this weekend's UFC Fight Night event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is where the real action begins. That's right, fight-finishing phenoms Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje take each other on in a really exciting five round bout.

Both men have proven themselves to be some of the most violent fighters in the business, so we're guaranteed fireworks when they collide. However, there are still some questions that will be need to be answered come the end of the fight. Which lightweight will come away with the victory and will the winner's performance have an effect on who will take on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the strap?

We've also got an intriguing light heavyweight battle between longtime MMA veteran, Glover Teixeira and all-action fighter, Nikita Krylov. With bother fighters having such attack-focused fight philosophies, it's safe to assume that this will end violently. Will Teixeira be able to withstand Krylov's attacking onslaught and knock him out or will the Ukrainian be able to teach an old dog new tricks?

We've also got the return of heavyweight knockout artist, Todd Duffee, an intriguing middleweight scrap between Uriah Hall and Antonio Carlos Junior, plus much, much more.

The opening fight of the main card pits rising MMA prospect, Jimmy Crute, against Canadian grappler, Misha Cirkunov, in an intriguing light heavyweight battle.

Despite losing three of his last four fights, Cirkunov has proven himself to be a worthy competitor at 205lb. While his striking is simple, yet effective, it's his ability to get the fight to the floor which has really stood out inside the Octagon. Cirkunov has some slick ground transitions and is always looking for a submission. You'll see that in all of his fights inside the UFC, once the fight has hit the floor, he's manages to at least threaten opponents with something.

While that's impressive, it could be quite difficult to do that against someone like Crute. Despite only being 23-years old, Crute is an extremely talented prospect who is a bit of a dark horse in this light heavyweight division. Not only is he a very good striker, he's also highly skilled on the ground.

If Cirkunov can get the fight to the mat, it's not going to be easy for him to do what he usually does to opponents. So if the striking realm is where a lot of the fight will take place, then Crute should hand Cirkunov is fourth knockout loss in his last five fights.