Malcolm Gordon

He calls it a close fight where 'somebody's getting finished' and picks Gordon purely as a hometown tiebreaker ('HomeTown guy that's it'); he never argues a skill edge for the winner specifically -- he actually gives Flick the grappling edge and Gordon the striking edge and says either man could finish the other.

Malcolm Gordon is a more balanced, slightly more polished striker-grappler than his opponent, built around solid jiu-jitsu (arm and wrist attacks into kimura/armbar) and a scrambling game, with decent forward-pressure striking carrying real power and a high guard. His own durability is called into question in the same breath as his striking strengths.

better overall, more paths to victory

Gordon hits a little harder than Hadley with odd-angle striking and forward pressure, which the analyst credits as 'good' despite admitting the rating isn't especially technical. His chin is explicitly marked suspect -- he tends to get rattled when hit, even though he keeps a high guard. His own jiu-jitsu is good in scrambles and quick to snatch up an opponent's arm, but his takedowns are below average.

He calls himself 'pretty darn confident' in Mokaev, with the only hedge being that Mokaev is 'a massive favorite' price-wise and uncertainty about which round it ends.

A durable UFC veteran (3-2 in his last five) with a likely boxing edge and functional offensive wrestling, but he expects Mokaev's takedown volume to be the deciding factor. He credits Gordon as a credible opponent, not a 'scrub,' who has a real shot to survive round one.