5 Predictions For UFC 251

The fight for a vacant title is always an interesting affair but this one has the added flavour of matching a new title contender in Petr Yan against a legend of the business, Jose Aldo. The Bantamweight title has been vacant since Henry Cejudo's retirement in May but this weekend there will be a new champion.

251 has provided the perfect platform for the vacant title. There is the new contender in Yan who comes to this fight undefeated during his time in UFC and has proven he deserves to be here, and then there's the old guard in Jose Aldo, a true veteran of UFC who has entertained fans worldwide for many years. Whether or not the former champ has it in him for another title fight will be seen this weekend.

Form is on Yan's side: he has three knockout and three decision victories to his name in the UFC while Aldo is coming to this fight on the back of two losses, the most recent of which was a split decision loss to Marlon Moraes. Both fighters have exceptional striking ability but Aldo edges this contest with his ability to knock out opponents being proven over the years with a 17/28 knockout success. Yan also has the ability to takedown his opponent but this will mean little to Aldo, who is a notoriously difficult opponent to bring down. Aldo is an extremely aggressive fighter who looks to suffocate and stifle his opponents until he edges out victory. While both fighters come into this evenly matched, experience will likely be the decider between the two at 251.

Prediction: Aldo Knockout victory.