UFC 221 predictions: Can Romero make good on his 2nd shot at gold?

Prior to Saturday's UFC 221 in Perth, Australia, theScore's Themistoklis Alexis makes his picks for the evening's noteworthy bouts.

Main Card

Interim Middleweight Championship

Yoel Romero (8-1 UFC, 12-2)
vs.
Luke Rockhold (6-2 UFC, 16-3)

Order might come one step closer to being restored on fight night, but Rockhold won't be the one to do it.

The former Strikeforce champ boasts a terrifying top game and a deep bag of submissions and kicks, but his boxing remains a liability Romero shouldn't need all five rounds to exploit. The Cuban's gas tank failed him in his interim title bout opposite reigning champ Robert Whittaker, but he's made a career of lulling his foes into his pace before pouncing for a mid-round finish. Expect him to find Rockhold's chin sooner than later before finishing him off on the ground to secure a rematch with Whittaker.

Romero with another third-round knockout.

THE PICK: Romero

Heavyweight

Mark Hunt (8-5-1 UFC, 13-11-1)
vs.
Curtis Blaydes (3-1 UFC, 8-1)

Blaydes will need to break out his best Stipe Miocic impression if he has any intention of leaving Australia with his brain matter unscathed.

While still capable of putting many a man away with his granite fists, the 43-year-old Hunt can't take a shot like he used to and remains slow as a turtle when put on his back. Boasting a solid wrestling base and an improved jab, look for the still raw - albeit promising - Blaydes to trade blows with Hunt just long enough to set up a takedown, collecting his most valuable scalp yet with relentless ground-and-pound.

THE PICK: Blaydes

Heavyweight

Tai Tuivasa (1-0 UFC, 6-0)
vs.
Cyril Asker (2-2 UFC, 9-3)

If the hype surrounding Tuivasa is, in fact, premature, it won't fizzle out on Saturday.

The undefeated heir apparent to Hunt impressed with a stoppage of Rashad Coulter in his November promotional debut, and all signs point to another early knockout this time around, as Asker has promptly succumbed to strikes in both of his UFC defeats. As long as Tuivasa can prevent the Frenchman from taking the action to the ground, he should continue to bear shades of the Hunt protege he is and put Asker away before the second-round horn sounds.

THE PICK: Tuivasa

Welterweight

Jake Matthews (5-3 UFC, 11-3)
vs.
Li Jingliang (6-2 UFC, 14-4)

Matthews' reinvention at 170 pounds ends with Jingliang.

The young Aussie got back in the win column with a split verdict over consummate underachiever Bojan Velickovic in his divisional debut, but Jingliang won't be so willing to fight Matthews' fight. Expect the streaking, heavy-handed Chinese native to get the better of the leather exchanges, and if the fight makes it to the mat, it'll be because Jingliang's mitts sent Matthews there.

Jingliang by TKO.

THE PICK: Jingliang

Light Heavyweight

Tyson Pedro (2-1 UFC, 6-1)
vs.
Saparbek Safarov (0-1 UFC, 8-1)

In a promotional debut opposite the perpetually middling Gian Villante, Safarov flashed little more than an otherworldly tolerance for pain.

Now tasked with a more versatile and athletic dance partner in Pedro, the 31-year-old Safarov enters yet another world of hurt in his sophomore walk to the Octagon. Looking to rebound from a loss of his own to Ilir Latifil, expect Pedro to do what he does best: bring the action to the canvas and angle for his fifth career tapout.

THE PICK: Pedro

Preliminaries

Flyweight

Jussier Formiga (6-4 UFC, 20-5)
vs.
Ben Nguyen (4-1 UFC, 16-6)

It behooves Formiga to get this one to the mat with his first opportunity.

Nguyen boasts the edge in the striking department and hasn't been submitted since his pro debut, but the Brazilian has to like his chances on the ground with the adopted Australian if he watched Nguyen's brutal loss to Louis Smolka. He'll likely eat a few zingers for his efforts, but Formiga should make it two in a row with some hard-fought takedowns and clock-chewing from top control.

THE PICK: Formiga