UFC 219 predictions: Will Cyborg extend her dominant run?

Prior to Saturday's UFC 219 in Las Vegas, theScore's Themistoklis Alexis makes his picks for the evening's main-card bouts.

Women's Featherweight Championship

Cris Cyborg (3-0 UFC, 18-1)
vs.
Holly Holm (4-3 UFC, 11-3)

Call her a one-hit wonder if you will, but Holm remains the most technically proficient striker Cyborg will have ever faced.

Tasked with a veritable destroyer who's never taken a backward step in the cage, Holm will have to stage a repeat of her 2015 stunner versus Ronda Rousey to claim her second UFC title, cutting angles, remaining on her bicycle, and baiting Cyborg to create openings for counters. Granted, Rousey wasn't half the striker Cyborg is, but if Holm can submit another methodical showing and take the Brazilian into foreign territory known as the championship rounds, she might - just might - pull off yet another upset.

THE PICK: Holm

Lightweight

Khabib Nurmagomedov (8-0 UFC, 24-0)
vs.
Edson Barboza (13-4 UFC, 19-4)

Those quick to laud Barboza's takedown defense haven't taken a thorough gander at his resume.

Deadly as he is, the Muay Thai man hasn't seen a dance partner with Nurmagomedov's wrestling pedigree, and if the Dagestan native gets him in his clutches, Barboza will be in for the Michael Johnson treatment. He might have to eat a few zingers for his trouble, but should Nurmagomedov take away the space Barboza needs to uncork his vaunted kicks - a la Beneil Dariush - expect him to drag the action to the mat and maul his way to a TKO victory.

THE PICK: Nurmagomedov

Lightweight

Dan Hooker (4-3 UFC, 14-7)
vs.
Marc Diakiese (3-1 UFC, 12-1)

Hooker is only now learning to optimize his long limbs, which is bad news for Diakiese.

The Kiwi made excellent use of intercepting knees in his June starching of Ross Pearson, and while Diakiese has flashed freaky athleticism and knockout power, he may be treated to the same fate should this one make it to the later rounds and his meager gas tank rear its ugly head. The brash British prospect has made a habit of shooting for takedowns as fatigue sets in, and if Hooker can weather an early storm and get his timing down, he should put Diakiese away just as he did a bobbing-and-weaving Pearson.

THE PICK: Hooker

Strawweight

Cynthia Calvillo (3-0 UFC, 6-0)
vs.
Carla Esparza (3-2 UFC, 12-4)

Calvillo wants a knockout, but odds are she'll secure a submission.

Try as she might to put Esparza away with strikes, her foe will likely resort to her wrestling roots and bring the fight to the ground should Calvillo's mitts get too close for comfort. Once on the mat, Calvillo shouldn't shy away from creating scrambles and gaining the dominant position before claiming a valuable scalp and capping a banner year with a tapout.

THE PICK: Calvillo

Welterweight

Carlos Condit (7-6 UFC, 30-10)
vs.
Neil Magny (12-5 UFC, 19-6)

Condit has 16 months of lost time to make up for. He should reintroduce himself at Magny's expense in typically brutal fashion.

Even with a gaudy 80-inch reach at his disposal, Magny has yet to consistently keep his foes at the end of his punches, which doesn't bode well against a reliable purveyor of firefights in Condit. Whether the action stays standing or goes to the canvas, expect nothing less than all-out violence from "The Natural Born Killer" and another frustrating outing from the once promising Magny.

Condit by TKO.

THE PICK: Condit