Bold Combat Sports Predictions

Prediction #1: Colby Covington to WWE

Colby has a lot of things going for him if he wants to make the transition. He has the wrestling background, courtesy of two Pac-10 titles at Oregon State. And his public persona could make him a natural heel right off the bat. So maybe he gets a matchup with Roman Reigns? Or he takes on Rob Gronkowski for the 24/7 title? The possibilities are certainly out there. 

Prediction #2: Holloway to Bellator

The one obstacle here is that Holloway's facing Yair Rodriguez next month. 

However, Max Holloway, often known as the "pride of Hawaii", could be a fairly major acquisition for Bellator, given that they've certainly been closer to putting on fight cards in Honolulu than the UFC over the years. Think about how many tickets Bellator could sell for a fight card in Honolulu if they have a fighter born in Honolulu in the main event. 

But who could Bellator send to the UFC? I was thinking Julia Budd, as she'd give Amanda Nunes a sellable featherweight title fight, but she's now in the PFL. Maybe AJ McKee and give the UFC an undefeated fighter in Holloway's weight class? Or Patricio Freire, now that he's vacated the lightweight belt?

Prediction #3: Kamaru Usman v. Artur Beterbiev in the boxing ring

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has won eighteen straight bouts in MMA and all fourteen of his bouts in the Octagon, including four successive title defenses. Should he get past Covington in a rematch next month, I think he'll go the Conor McGregor route and opt for a crossover boxing match. Although Canelo Alvarez is a suitable opponent with his 56 wins and the fact that he competes around the welterweight mark, I'm going to throw out something completely different and suggest Artur Beterbiev.

And this despite Beterbiev competing five pounds heavier than welterweight, but hear me out.

Beterbiev has finished all sixteen of his bouts inside the distance while Usman, although 14-0 in the Octagon, has stopped four of those with three of them coming in his last five bouts.