UFC 203: Bleacher Report Main Card Staff Predictions

In the UFC's first-ever visit to Cleveland, Ohio, heavyweight hometown champion Stipe Miocic defends his title for the first time against former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem. Miocic claimed the title four months ago when he knocked out Fabricio Werdum halfway through the first round. Challenger Overeem, 56 fights into his professional MMA career, has wins over Werdum, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos and Vitor Belfort—all former UFC champions. 

This card also features CM Punk's long-awaited UFC and MMA debut, against the largely unknown Mickey Gall. Gall called out Punk after his first professional MMA fight while UFC President Dana White was in the audience to film his scouting show Lookin' for a Fight. That's how Gall got his second pro fight in the UFC. After knocking Mike Jackson down and submitting him with a rear naked choke at 45 seconds into the first round, Gall secured his money fight with Punk.

Your regular crew is here for picks: Craig Amos, Scott Harris, Nathan McCarter, Steven Rondina and me! 

The main card is:

• Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem
• Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne 
• CM Punk (Phil Brooks) vs. Mickey Gall
• Urijah Faber vs. Jimmie Rivera
• Jessica Andrade vs. Joanne Calderwood

Let's get to it so you can start betting.

Jessica Andrade vs. Joanne Calderwood

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Jessica Andrade, left, punches Jessica Penne.

Steven Rondina

Andrade was decent at 135 pounds, but I'm expecting her to be great at 115. I think she'll post a Pride-era Wanderlei Silva-like performance and bust Joanne Calderwood up en route to a handy decision.

Andrade, unanimous decision

Nathan McCarter

Both women looked exceptional in their last fights, but Calderwood's came at 125 pounds. At 115, she hasn't looked exceptional since her time in Invicta. The extra 10 pounds will take away her ability to handle Andrade's berserk striking and power. She'll get mauled against the cage. Andrade shows up to announce herself as a true contender in the division.

Andrade, unanimous decision

Craig Amos

Andrade looked terrifying against Jessica Penne, but striking with Calderwood won't be so easy. I too have some concerns about Calderwood at 115, but not enough to override how impressed I was with her performance in Ottawa. She'll handle Andrade's pressure and score points from a distance and inside the clinch. Ultimately, that will be enough to earn the decision.

Calderwood, unanimous decision

Scott Harris

Are you ready for some output? Calderwood might get a few highlight-reel shots, but Andrade takes a decision on volume and toughness.

Andrade, unanimous decision

Sydnie Jones

Andrade is only 5'2", and she held her own as a bantamweight. She also has a 79 percent finish rate of her 15 wins. Calderwood is a talented striker, but her ability to keep Andrade at length when faced with that blitzkrieg is kind of an unknown. Andrade also has solid grappling, which has proved problematic for Calderwood in the past.

Andrade, submission, Rd. 2

Urijah Faber vs. Jimmie Rivera

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Jimmie Rivera, right, punches Iuri Alcantara.

Steven Rondina

I'm not the only one that's kind of sad to see Faber go from fighting for the title to seeing him fight some no-namer on the undercard of a B-level pay-per-view, right? I mean, he'll win, probably. But I can't get past the fact he's taking these kinds of fights with nothing on the line.

Faber, unanimous decision

Nathan McCarter

Faber doesn't lose fights like this. Faber still enjoys to fight but is clearly not a contender. These are the type of fights we'll get out of him until he completely fades or decides he's done.

Faber, submission, Rd. 1

Craig Amos

Faber is still doing the thing where he loses to elite fighters but beats everyone else. Can he keep the theme going against Rivera? Recent wins over Alex Caceres, Francisco Rivera and Frankie Saenz did not come as easily as they once did, and Jimmie Rivera might just be the guy to nudge the fan favorite toward the twilight.

Rivera, unanimous decision

Scott Harris

All the signs point to a younger, fresher Rivera turning this into a stand-up boxing match and outpointing the slower Faber. Faber can try to grapple it up, but I don't see Rivera being slow enough to let that happen.

Rivera, unanimous decision

Sydnie Jones

It's possible Faber's fading star is reaching its nadir, but I don't know that Rivera will be the one to illustrate that for us. Sure, Rivera has a record of 19-1, but 13 of those wins are by decision. Is he likely to win a decision over someone as experienced and as strong a wrestler as Faber? Nah.

Faber, decision

CM Punk vs. Mickey Gall

Stacy Revere/ Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Steven Rondina

It's kind of funny how Mickey Gall, and his two wins over guys with a combined pro record of 1-3, is suddenly an unstoppable killing machine. He'll probably beat CM Punk, but he'll probably do so in an ugly, boring slog of a fight.

Gall, unanimous decision

Nathan McCarter

I don't know how anyone can legitimately break this fight down. We have some video on Gall, but even that's limited. And, essentially, nothing on Punk. Until we see this fight we just don't know anything about how it plays out. It's a complete guess. Since it's a guess...I'll take Punk. Why not?

CM Punk, submission, Rd. 1

Craig Amos

Rondina raises a good point: Punk's obvious inexperience has made people buy into Gall by default. That said, he looks like a solid fighter with some innate athleticism. No reason to overthink what will be a pretty one-sided affair, but I applaud McCarter's bravery.

Gall, submission, Rd. 1

Scott Harris

Gall is just too fast, too young and too athletic. Punk might rile up the crowd with an early near-submission, but this is Gall's fight to lose. He's not going to lose it.

Gall, TKO, Rd. 1

Sydnie Jones

Who doesn't want Punk to win? Probably plenty of people, but does anyone want to see him suffer a really awful beatdown? I hope not. I don't. Punk seems to have a level head going into this fight, although I'm not sure he understands how crazy it is to start an MMA career at 37 after racking up years of pro wrestling on your body. Punk has a height advantage, at 6'2", and has been training at Roufusport since January 2015, when not waylaid by injuries. That's a camp full of high-level coaches and training partners, and that has the potential to go far in the time he's been there. So, I'm going to go out on a limb with Nathan and say, "Why not?"

Punk, submission, Rd. 2

Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne

Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Werdum, right, gets his hands wrapped.

Steven Rondina

Werdum and Browne haven't changed much since their first fight, and Werdum won that pretty easily. Unless Browne can break off an early KO, Werdum should be able to post three solid rounds and take a decision.

Werdum, unanimous decision

Nathan McCarter

I'm just not sold on Browne being an elite heavyweight. He has power, but he doesn't have anything else that can oust Werdum. He's got the proverbial puncher's chance. Werdum gets him to the fence, to the ground and to the loss column.

Werdum, submission, Rd. 2

Craig Amos

Werdum has already beaten Brown up for 25 minutes. Another 15 are on the way.

Werdum, unanimous decision

Scott Harris

The Summer of Travis continues unabated. After getting pulpified in July by Cain Velasquez, Browne will now get pretzel-knotted by one of the best jiu-jitsu players in the world.

Werdum, submission, Rd. 1

Sydnie Jones

I'm with Nathan again; Browne has never struck me as particularly skilled or adept, despite victories over some impressive names—including Alistair Overeem. While Browne may be powerful enough to drop an opponent with a perfectly timed strike, Werdum would be a fool if he weren't more cautious coming off a fast knockout title loss to Stipe Miocic. Browne hasn't lost by submission yet, but I doubt it's from any real grappling prowess. That will change. The lack of submission losses, not his grappling prowess.

Werdum, submission, Rd. 1

Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Stipe Miocic, left, punches Fabricio Werdum in his successful title challenge.

Steven Rondina

This one is so incredibly tough to pick. Overeem is a downright scary fighter at times, but his soft chin and inconsistency make it tough to buy into him in any big way. Miocic isn't exceptionally good in any area, but he's so fundamentally sound all over that he can hang with anyone anywhere. Miocic gets my nod, though, based on his edge in wrestling (and the potentially home-cooked judges' decision).

Miocic, unanimous decision

Nathan McCarter

It's an exceptional fight mostly due to the improvements Overeem has made tactically since joining Greg Jackson and company in New Mexico. With that said, I'll still side with the champion. The tempo of the fight will get to Overeem and allow Miocic to start piling up the strikes in the second. The referee will have to save Overeem.

Miocic, TKO, Rd. 2

Craig Amos

Overeem has demonstrated some tactical improvements lately, but I'm more than sold on Miocic. I anticipate that Saturday will mark the first of multiple defenses for the champion, who just continues to get better every time he competes.

Miocic, TKO, Rd. 3

Scott Harris

We'll see in short order if Miocic has been quaffing too much of that Cleveland lake water since he won the title. Here's guessing he hasn't. His boxing and his defensive wrestling will keep him up and keep him firing. Overeem's chin has seen better days. 

Miocic, KO, Rd. 2

Sydnie Jones

Overeem always seems so gigantic. I find myself potentially swayed by mountainous men like Overeem and Lesnar, but let's also remember that Miocic managed to finish Mark Hunt with a TKO. That's a serious feat. With 17 fights under his belt, Miocic is comfortable in the cage and, I'm guessing, fresher than Overeem. 56 fights is nuts, right? Overeem has been on a streak lately with four consecutive wins, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything if your next opponent is Miocic. 

Miocic, TKO, Rd. 2