UFC Fight Night 76 Poster (Photo : Photo: Twitter)
UFC Fight Night 76 will set up shop at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland where former featherweight contender, Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier, goes toe-to-toe with Conor McGregor conqueror, Joseph "Irish Joe" Duffy, for the lightweight main event.
Other marquee matches include a co-main event bout between hometown favorite Patrick Holohan and Hawaiian born Louis Smolka; Norman Parke versus Reza Madadi; and Nicolas Dalby against Darren Till.
With the October 24 card slowly creeping on the horizon, now is the time to whip out the crystal ball and predict who will get his hand raised in victory.
Welterweight Bout: Nicolas Dalby (-135) vs. Darren Till (+115)
Darren Till heads into this welterweight scrap as the slight underdog against Danish superstar Nicolas Dalby.
Both fighters are undefeated, with Till finishing 11 out of his 13 fights, compared to Dalby's seven of 14.
Look for a streaking Nicolas Dalby to negate the standup game of Darren Till en route to a unanimous decision win.
Lightweight Bout: Norman Parke (-300) vs. Reza Madadi (+250)
Following a two-year layoff, Reza "Mad Dog" Madadi makes his way to the UFC Octagon against "Stormin'" Norman Parke.
Madadi comes off a submission win against lightweight contender, Michael Johnson, while Parke lost his last two matches via split decision.
Expect a lot of crazy exchanges throughout the fight, concluded by a Reza Madadi submission win late in the second round.
Flyweight Bout: Paddy Holohan (-105) vs. Louis Smolka (-115)
The co-main event match of Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka could be an ideal replacement for the scrapped heavyweight bout of Ben Rothwell and Stipe Miocic.
With both flyweights looking to climb up the ranks of the division, anticipate a barnburner of a fight with no one giving an inch.
In the end, despite the support of Paddy Holohan's hometown crowd, Louis Smolka's speed and tenacity should be enough to help him escape with a split decision win.
Lightweight Bout: #13 Dustin Poirier (+205) vs. Joseph Duffy (-245)
In the main event, No. 13 ranked UFC lightweight Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier will go up against Joseph "Irish Joe" Duffy.
Poirier has been on a tear following his move up in the division with knockout wins over Yancy Medeiros and Carlos Diego Ferreira, while Duffy has showcased the diversity and improvement in his game since his UFC debut last March.
It's hard to see a revamped Dustin Poirier lose this fight, but Joe Duffy's complete arsenal and crowd support may just be too much for him.
Ultimately, it'll be "Irish Joe" via a third round submission.
