The UFC returns for their latest pay-per-view offering as UFC 224 takes place on Saturday, May 12 from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The main event features Amanda Nunes defending her UFC women's bantamweight championship battling No. 2 ranked Raquel Pennington. In the co-main event, in middleweight action, No. 2 ranked Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza takes on No. 5 ranked Kelvin Gastelum.
Will Nunes be able to walk out of her home country with the belt or does Pennington pull off the upset?
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UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington predictions
Kyte: While I think Pennington is a more game challenger than the better lines indicate her to be, I also think coming off an 18-month layoff to face a well-rounded powerhouse like Nunes in a championship fight in her home country is a tall, tall order.
I was really impressed with Nunes’ performance against Valentina Shevchenko last time out as she showed much more patience and poise, proved she can go 25 minutes and emerged victorious in a tough fight against an equally talented opponent. This time around, I think she rolls.
Pennington has never been shy about getting into a fistfight, which is a troublesome trait when you’re facing someone with blistering power. Whether it ends with ground-and-pound or a submission, I envision this one ending inside the first two rounds, with Nunes pressing forward and piecing up “Rocky” before hurting her and securing the finish.
Prediction: Amanda Nunes
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Muehlhausen: Those who dare to say Pennington isn't a worthy title challenger, need to get their eyes examined. She nearly beat Holly Holm in the latter's UFC debut and most recently, retired one of the all time greats at 135 pounds, Miesha Tate.
Coming back from an 18-month layoff is one thing, but facing one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, in her home country is a tall order.
Nunes showed a lot of improvement in her last fight against Shevchenko. She fixed really the only hole in her arsenal, her cardio, by going five full rounds and not getting tired down the stretch.
Pennington knows only one way to fight, and that's forward. Nunes will be more than happy to oblige. Her power will end up being too much. This won't go into the championship rounds as Nunes will win by strikes.
Prediction: Amanda Nunes
UFC 224 main card, undercard predictions
| Fights | Kyte | Muehlhausen |
| Ronaldo Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum | Souza | Gastelum |
| Amanda Cooper vs. Mackenzie Dern | Cooper | Dern |
| John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher | Lineker | Lineker |
| Lyoto Machida vs. Vitor Belfort | Machida | Machida |
| Karl Roberson vs. Cezar Ferreira | Roberson | Ferreira |
| Oleksiy Oliynyk vs. Junior Albini | Oliynyk | Albini |
| Davi Ramos vs. Nick Hein | Ramos | Hein |
| Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Sean Strickland | Zaleski dos Santos | Strickland |
| Warlley Alves vs. Sultan Aliev | Alves | Alves |
| Jack Hermansson vs. Thales Leites | Hermansson | Leites |
| Ramazan Emeev vs. Alberto Mina | Mina | Emeev |
| Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic | Perez | Perez |
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. Subscribe to his You Tube channel here . You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .