Colby Thicknesse and Josias Musasa will do battle in the prelims of UFC Fight Night from Perth on Saturday. This bantamweight matchup features two fighters to suffered their first pro MMA losses in their last fights. Both will look to bounce back at the expense of the other early in the night on Saturday. Here, I take a closer look at this matchup in the octagon and give you my Colby Thicknesse vs Josias Musasa prediction.
Our Colby Thicknesse vs Josias Musasa Pick
- Pick: Josias Musasa to win
- Confidence: ★★★★☆
Tale of the Tape
| Colby Thicknesse | Josias Musasa | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 26 | 26 |
| Height | 5’7″ | 5’8″ |
| Reach | 69″ | 74″ |
| Stance | Orthodox | Southpaw |
| Record | 7-1-0 | 8-1-0 |
Colby Thicknesse vs Josias Musasa Preview
Colby Thicknesse is fighting on home soil in Australia this weekend. He enters this bout with a professional record of seven wins and one loss. His last fight was on February 8 at UFC 312, where he faced Aleksandre Topuria and suffered a loss by unanimous decision. That was his UFC debut and the Australian will try to bounce back from losing his debut in this fight.
Josias Musasa also dropped his UFC debut in his last fight. The fighter from Democratic Republic of Congo has an 8-1-0 record, with seven of those wins coming by knockout. His only loss was a submission defeat to Carlos Vera on March 15, which was his first appearance in UFC. Musasa’s aggressive striking style has earned him the nickname “The KO Wizard” and he has a reputation for finishing fights early. This is an opportunity for him to prove he can knock an opponent out in the biggest promotion in professional MMA.
Betting Insights
- Moneyline Odds: Josias Musasa -155, Colby Thicknesse +130
- Total Rounds: Under 2.5 rounds -115, Over 2.5 rounds -115
- Musasa was taken out in the first round of his first UFC fight.
- Thicknesse lost his first UFC fight by decision.
Colby Thicknesse vs Josias Musasa Prediction
Neither of these fighters has a wealth of UFC experience to lean back on. But Josias Musasa appears to have the edge in this matchup. His knockout power and higher striking volume should give him the edge over Thicknesse. The ability to take Musasa down would be useful, but Thicknesse typically doesn’t bother much with takedowns and he likely won’t be able to subdue Musasa on the mat in this matchup.
We could see Musasa win this fight by knockout given his reputation for winnings fights in that way. But I recommend taking Musasa to win this fight on the moneyline, as Thicknesse could hang tough here to avoid being knocked out in front of a crowd of his countrymen.
