Always wanted to start my own series on Verdict so maybe I'll do this. Three locks for UFC 323 and three fighters who I think are good underdogs, let's get into it. Underdog 1 🦴 - Marvin Vettori. Vettori is coming in on rough form but I think he's taking on a big step down in competition here. Brunno doesn't have the best takedown defense or cardio, and I have to rely on Marvins chin pulling through like it always does. If you look at Vettori's losses, Brendan Allen is a really good fighter, same with Cannonier, and Whittaker (although Roman Dolidze f*cking sucks but let's ignore that), and Brunno was taken down and subbed by a gassed Abus Magomedov. I think it's in the cards for Vettori to pull one back here. Lock 1 🔒 - Jalin Turner Calling Turner a lock in the big 2025 might be a bit premature, but I feel like he has to be soooo washed to lose to Barboza. Turner has come back for a reason so I really don't think he's going to take this lightly, especially considering a loss could mean getting cut. He's longer than Edson, he's sharp on the feet when he choses to be, and he has very quick submissions that he usually finds when he rocks people. And that's exactly how I expect him to finish Barboza, a guillotine choke after hurting Edson. Underdog 2 🦴 - Manuel Torres I totally understand why Torres is an underdog against Dawson, who's an extremely good grappler. But, I'm taking a shot on Dawson getting brutally chinned by El Loco's power. I think he'll catch him at put him out, but it's a bit of a long shot. Dawson isn't great with his striking defense but he's gotten away with it because he's fought fairly weak punchers. Lock 2 🔒 - Alexandre Pantoja I've seen a lot of mixed opinion on this fight, with a lot of people trusting in the Joshua Van cardio and striking. BUT, I'm not buying into it. I think Pantoja is simply too skilled on the ground, an area where we really haven't seen Van at all. Van has good double and single leg defense but Pantoja is able to attack takedowns from trips and even attack the back while standing, I think he'll crawl over Joshua van like a spider and find the submission. But I'd love to be proven wrong here, if Joshua Van ends up being some elite grappler as well, Pantoja could be in for a good fight. I still like Pantoja on the feet though. Van is hittable everywhere, but hes got a solid chin and solid power so he's able to give and take. Underdog 3 🦴 - Henry Cejduo I might be missplacing my faith but I really like Cejudo in this fight. Payton Talbott is good and improving rapidly but I'm not sure he has the facilities to defend takedowns from an Olympic gold medalist. Henry has a really good chin too, so I don't see him getting flatlined by Talbott. Felipe Lima is a great fighter, but he really could've beaten Talbott if he fought difference. Payton hasnt got the best defense if you use faints, Lima was landing on him good but just didn't trust his hands enough and he became predictable with his takedowns. I think Henry can bait out reactions from Talbott and find takedowns easier, not get outscrambled, and win a decision. Lock 3 🔒 - Jan Blachowicz PLEASEE CRAFTY VET PERFORMANCE JAN JUST AVOID THE POWER SHOTS, CHOP THE LEGS FIND THE TAKEDOWNS WIN A DECISION I DONT CARE PLEASEEEE JAN BOGDAN ISN'T ON YOUR LEVEL.