The MMA Daily

We have a scrap in the Lightweight division, as Benoit Saint-Denis takes on newcomer Gabriel Miranda. Returning to the octagon three months after tasting UFC victory for the first time, Saint-Denis will look to make it two straight. On home soil, for only the second time in his career, Saint-Denis will have the crowds energy to feed off. Meanwhile, Miranda comes into his UFC debut on a three-fight win streak. Having fought for Pancrase and Brave FC, it will be interesting to see to how the 32 year old debutant does on the biggest stage.

When watching film on Miranda, he certainly looks to be an excellent grappler and dangerous submission artist. As evident by fifteen of his sixteen wins coming via submission. However, he has faced low level competition for much of his career and has yet to defeat anyone with double-digit wins. Knowing that and given this will be Saint-Denis’ third UFC appearance, I’m not certain Miranda is truly ready to take on this caliber of an opponent. The only aspect working in his favor though, is the fact that Saint-Denis also happens to be a grappler with excellent submissions. While Miranda could catch Saint-Denis, I’m in the belief that his grappling has been more effective on lesser foes. With that said, I predict Saint-Denis to feed off the crowd and win via submission.