My UFC Total Of the Month is on the Under in the Nikolay Veretennikov vs Danny Barlow fight. Uros Medic was originally supposed to fiight Danny Barlow. Replacing Medic will be Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Nikolay Veretennikov. The new matchup will make for a quick bout, most likely a quick Barlow TKO. Veretennikov's last 3 fights have all finished in the first or second round. His most recent was a 1st round TKO victory. Barlow has four straight TKO victories. Three of those four didn't make it out of the first round. This one won't either. Play on the Under.

My UFC TOM is on the Stoltzfus/Ferreira fight to go under 1.5 rounds. This fight is unlikely to go the distance. Brunno "The Hulk" Ferreira is 11-1. None of his 12 fights have been decided by the judges. He has 8 KO's/TKO's and 3 submissions. His loss was a KO.

If we look the recent Ferreira fights we see a definite pattern. Win or loss, they always end in the 1st round! Each of his last 6 fights have finished in the 1st round. A look at his entire career reveals that 10 of his 12 fights finished in the 1st round, the other two both finished in the 2nd. Stoltzfus is off a 2nd Rd submission win. Before that, he lost by TKO in the 1st round.

Ferreira wanted a different opponent but this one is a good one for him: “Unfortunately, Shara Magomedov escaped from me for a second time. We had a fight prescheduled for June 22 in Saudi Arabia, but he escaped from me and accepted an easier opponent where he doesn’t run any risk from being taken down. But fortunately, UFC found Stoltzfus, which is a great opponent to me. Just like Hawes, he will permit me to show both my striking and grappling abilities. That fight will be perfect for me to show my overall improvement for the fan." Translation. This one won't last long. Go with the Under.

My UFC Total Of The Month is on the over in the Main Event between Lerone Murphy and Edson Barboza at 8:30 pm et on Saturday. This fight could easily go the full five rounds. Barboza has been around for a long time and has some highlight reel KO's to his credit. Most of those were a long time ago though and he's now taking on a fighter who has never lost. Barboza's last fight was a 5-round decision in October of 2023. Five of his past 8 fights have beed decided by the judges.

As fights have become more difficult, Lerone Murphy is also going the distance more and more regularly. Off back-to-back decisions, he's now had 6 of them. Three of his past 4 fights have been decided by the judges. Play on the Over.

Brandon Royval is off back-to-back 1st Rd wins. 8 of his last 9 fights have ended in either the 1st or the 2nd round. Alexandre Pantoja went the distance against Moreno last fight. He won his previous fight in the 1st round though. He previously defeated Royval in the 2nd round. Royval's style makes it likely that this rematch won't last long. The Raw Dog fights with ferocity and pace. Go with the Under! ***UFC TOTAL OF THE YEAR***

The set-up: Calvin Kattar is 21-4 and Dan Ige is 14-2. Kattar is a 3-1 favorite to win this fight, but I think Ige will take this one distance. Kattar has won his first seven UFC fights and four have come by knockout, but Ige won't be an easy "out," as he comes in on top form from as far as being in shape right now, as this is his third fight since early February. 

The pick: I think Ige bides his time in the early rounds and doesn't push, instead waiting for an opportunity to score an upset after wearing Kattar down. 

10* TOTAL OF THE WEEK on the OVER 2.5 -134 Pinnacle Kattar/Ige.