UFC Seattle: Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer Full Card Picks & Predictions

The UFC is back in Seattle, WA tonight (March 28) for another UFC Fight Night event, and MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré is here to provide predictions for all 13 fights on the card.

The main event will see former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya try to get back on track against Joe Pyfer, who is riding the momentum of three-straight wins and currently sits at #14 in the official UFC middleweight rankings.

The co-main event also features a former UFC titleholder, as former women’s flyweight queen Alexa Grasso looks to snap the first two-fight skid of her career when she takes on top contender Maycee Barber in a rematch that’s more than five years in the making.

UFC Seattle Main Card Predictions

Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer

Israel Adesanya (red gloves) fights Sean Strickland (blue gloves) during UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena. | Jasmin Frank-Imagn Images

The UFC is pretty clearly trying to see if they can get some of Adesanya’s remaining star power to rub off on Pyfer. There’s always the chance Pyfer could find a big shot and end things, but on paper this looks to be the biggest step back in competition that “The Last Stylebender” has had in years.

(Pick: Adesanya)

Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber 2

Maycee Barber (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Karine Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

It would be a shock to see Grasso go on a three-fight skid after losing the women’s flyweight belt in her trilogy bout with Valentina Shevchenko, but Barber has improved significantly from when the two women first met in 2021.

(Pick: Barber)

Michael Chiesa vs. Niko Price

Michael Chiesa (red gloves) fights Court McGee (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Chiesa was originally scheduled to meet Carlston Harris for his retirement fight in Seattle, and now he’s been handed what is arguably a more favorable matchup given that Price is on a three-fight skid and 1-5 dating back to 2023.

(Pick: Chiesa)

Julien Erosa vs. Lerrryan Douglas

I hate that it feels like the UFC is trying to feed an experienced veteran to the debuting Douglas, but Erosa typically doesn’t fare well against fighters that pack the kind of power that the Brazilian has in his hands.

(Pick: Douglas)

Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Yousri Belgaroui

Azamat Bekoev (red gloves) fights Yousri Belgaroui (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Arena. | Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

This is a really interesting matchup to give Belgaroui as just the second fight of his UFC career. The former kickboxer has obviously made significant strides since coming up short in his first Dana White’s Contender Series opportunity in 2023, and I’m picking him to hand Abdul-Malik his first loss.

(Pick: Belgaroui)

Terrance McKinney vs. Kyle Nelson

Bill Algeo (red gloves) fights Kyle Nelson (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Boardwalk Hall. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

The UFC obviously put this matchup together with the hope of opening the UFC Seattle main card with a finish. As dangerous as McKinney is during the early going, he might be surprised by how much power Nelson can also pack.

(Pick: Nelson)

UFC Seattle Preliminary Card Predictions

Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Tofiq Musayev

Ignacio Bahamondes (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Jalin Turner (not pictured) during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Musayev has been given another tough matchup here after being submitted in his UFC debut, especially given that Bahamondes is looking to get back into the win column after getting a significant step up in competition against Rafael Fizev.

(Pick: Bahamondes)

Chase Hooper vs. Lance Gibson Jr.

Chase Hooper during weigh ins for UFC 319 at Radius Chicago. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

This could be a significantly more challenging fight for Hooper than the current betting odds suggest, but “The Dream” should still be able to get the job done and rebound from the knockout-loss that ended an impressive five-fight win streak.

(Pick: Hooper)

Marcin Tybura vs. Tyrell Fortune

Marcin Tybura (red gloves) before the fight against Ante Delija (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Fortune was a bit of an unexpected signing for the UFC, but the heavyweight division is always in need of experienced fighters. Tybura has long been the gatekeeper for the upper tier of the UFC heavyweight division, and I think the 40-year-old will be able to spoil Fortune’s debut.

(Pick: Tybura)

Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes

Gabriella Fernandes of kicks Julija Stoliarenko in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX. — Gabriella Fernandes of kicks Gabriella Fernandes of kicks Julija Stoliarenko in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event. | (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

With O’Neill returning from a lengthy layoff, this is a big chance for Fernandes to add a fairly well-known name to her record and extend her winning run to four fights.

(Pick: Fernandes)

Navajo Stirling vs. Bruno Lopes

Navajo Stirling (red gloves) fights Ivan Erslan (blue gloves) during UFC 315 at Bell Centre. | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Stirling has added to his undefeated record since joining the UFC but is still looking for his first finish in the promotion, and this matchup with Lopes looks like a big opportunity for the New Zealander to finally secure that highlight.

(Pick: Stirling)

Ricky Simon vs. Adrian Yanez

Rob Font (red gloves) fights Adrian Yanez (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

This might be the most underrated matchup at UFC Seattle, and I’m going to slightly lean with Yanez to fend off Simon’s takedown attempts and get the better of things on the feet.

(Pick: Yanez)

Alexia Thainara vs. Bruna Brasil

Molly McCann (red gloves) fights against Alexia Thainara (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

We’ve seen Brasil pull off significant upsets before against Molly McCann and Ming Shi, but this matchup with Thainara looks it may halt her trend of alternating wins and losses in the UFC and leave her on the first two-fight skid of her career.

(Pick: Thainara)

MMA KO has been providing comprehensive coverage for UFC Seattle all throughout fight week, and be sure to check back with us later today for live results and highlights from all the action.