Announcing: Two Bone-Crunching MMA Events - UFC 234: Whittaker Vs. Gastelum & Bellator Newcastle: Pitbull vs. Scope

Tune in to Saturday’s bone-crunching MMA action for a double-dose across two continents. UFC 234 features two middleweight fights between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum for the main event and Israel Adesanya vs. Ricky Simon in the co-main. Bellator Newcastle unveils its first event headlined by Ryan Scope vs. Patricky “Pitbull” in the main event and Terry Brazier vs. Chris Bungard for the co-main.

UFC 234: Whittaker Vs. Gastelum

• Date: Sat, Feb 9, 9:00 PM
• Venue: Rod Laver Arena

Analysis: Robert Whittaker steps into the Octagon to prove himself as a pound-for-pound champion in this weight class. In his way is Kelvin Gastelum, a fighter that has gained notoriety for killing legends.

Whittaker vs. Gastelum is an exciting match. These are two fighters with very different styles that have proved to be knockout-effective in their own right.

Whittaker is a complete technical fighter, who has shown a greater arsenal of offensive and defensive weapons than that of Gastelum’s.

However, there is an open question on Whittaker’s health after his last two fights against Yael Romero that may have taken a more massive toll than what many can expect.

Whittaker should be OK though, and he’s probably more than capable of controlling the flow of the fight and his opponent.

Prediction: Whittaker takes the fights via TKO in the fourth.

UFC 234 Israel Adesanya vs. Anderson Silva

Analysis: The fight looks more like an overt attempt at an easy-picking to get Adesanya to a title fight without risking too much on the way.

Silva is a legend in his own right, but the grizzled warrior faces a fighter in his prime in Adesanya.

The odds are stacked against Silva and with good measure. Adesanya is expected to destroy his opponent, who himself is probably fated to fail in his quest to gain back his rule in the middleweights.

It shouldn’t be left without saying that the winner of Adesanya vs. Silva puts himself in direct line with the Whittaker vs. Gastelum victor and hence to the title. While this is likely to be Adesanya, it’s going to be interesting to see if Silva can come back from the ashes.

Prediction: Adesanya wins in the second round by TKO.

Bellator Newcastle: Pitbull vs. Scope

"Pitbull is in full pursuit!"@PatrickyPitbull returns to the cage on February 9th for #BellatorNewcastle. pic.twitter.com/i6PcCoZuJQ

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 2, 2019

• Date: Sat, Feb 9.
• Venue: Metro Radio Arena

Analysis: Patricky "Pitbull" Freire (17-4) and Ryan Scope (11-1) headline the main event in the newly-launched U.K., Ireland, and Western Europe Bellator fight series.

Pitbull steps into the Octagon riding a four-fight win streak, attempting to defeat the favorite local Scope.

Freire is the grizzled warrior of twenty-one fights under the Bellator banner. Though Scope has sharpened his teeth in the local scene, he still has yet to prove himself against a fighter of the experience of Freire.

Prediction: Scope will have the crowd in his corner, however, Pitbull lives up to his name and chews the local fighter to a pulp.