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Flyweights

Vinicius Salvador (14-4, 0-0 UFC) vs. Victor Altamirano (11-2, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Salvador (-115), Altamirano (-105)

This may not be the prettiest fight, but it figures to be entertaining. This is the third attempt at a long-overdue UFC debut for Salvador, who earned a contract via Dana White’s Contender Series in August. The Brazilian’s win over fellow contract earner Shannon Ross was one of the highlights of the season and showed the positives and negatives of Salvador’s style. He is capable of generating some impressive knockout power but is a wild and overconfident striker with little regard for what his opponent can offer, often getting hit in situations where he has no right to. That makes for a fun pairing against Mexico’s Altamirano—a scrappy and messy fighter that looks to leverage his pace and durability. Despite a surprising first-round finish of Daniel da Silva in August, “El Magnifico” is not typically a finishing threat, so he will likely have to survive a ton of damage to gut out a decision for the victory here; that is something Altamirano is clearly capable of doing. Still, the call is for Salvador to land the much more effective offense over the course of 15 minutes, even if he will let Altamirano into this fight more than he should be on paper. The pick is Salvador via decision.

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