Morgan Charriere vs Chepe Mariscal Prediction: A close contest

On Sunday morning at UFC Fight Night 240 in Las Vegas, Morgan Charriere and Chepe Mariscal will fight each other. This fight will happen at the UFC APEX venue and is the main event, lasting three rounds. Morgan Charriere, who has won 19 of his 29 fights, is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 145 pounds. Chepe Mariscal, slightly shorter at 5 feet 7 inches, also fights at 145 pounds and has won 15 of his 22 fights. Both are looking to win this important match.

Charriere is new to UFC with a 1-0 record and won his last fight against Manolo Zecchini quickly with strong kicks. Despite facing many challenges in his career, Charriere keeps pushing forward. He's tough, rarely gets knocked out, and has proven his skill in fights. Although he didn't shine in Cage Warriors, he made a big impact in UFC by beating Zecchini in his debut. Since then, he's won all his fights, usually by knockout, making it four wins in a row. He has lost to Joanderson Brito, Steve Garcia, Sean Soriano, Gregor Gillespie, Frank Buenafuente and Bryce Mitchell. 

At UFC 293, Mariscal won against Jack Jenkins in the second round through a technical knockout. Since his first UFC fight in June 2023, where he beat Trevor Peek, Mariscal has won all his two fights. Known as "Machine Gun," he has knocked out opponents in four out of his last five fights. Mariscal's journey to the top has been tough. A few years ago, he almost faded from public view after three consecutive losses. But he managed to come back strong, winning five fights in a row. Only one of these fights went to a judge's decision. Mariscal is known for his excellent striking skills, which stand out as his signature move.

I really want Mariscal to win, but he needs a lot of things to go right for him. Charriere is better at striking, and Mariscal isn’t very subtle and struggles against wrestlers in other fights. Charriere has never been knocked out in his career, but Mariscal has been knocked out three times, the last time by Steve Garcia four years ago. Lately, both fighters have been winning by knockouts: Charriere in his last three fights and Mariscal in his last four. They both like to attack and try to finish the fight early. It doesn’t matter how it happens, whether Charriere overwhelms with punches or Mariscal takes him down and uses ground-and-pound. It looks like the fight won’t last until the end.