With his win last night, @JoshuaVanBT officially became the higest elo active flyweight in the world at just 24 years old. That's quite a high ceiling. He is on pace to become the highest Elo fighter of all time, across all weight classes.

🥊 Flyweight Title Bout: Joshua Van vs Alexandre Pantoja 🇲🇲 Joshua Van (17-2) 📍 4oz. Fight Club 📏 5'5" | Age: 24 🗓️ Last: Win vs Tatsuro Taira (TKO, May 2026) 🧨 9 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 6 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,801 (Great, #4# FLW) Won the belt at UFC 323 when Pantoja's shoulder gave out. Myanmar's first UFC champion and, at 24, a dozen years younger than the man across from him — relentless volume with real pop (9 KOs). 🇧🇷 Alexandre Pantoja (30-6) 📍 American Top Team 📏 5'5" | Age: 36 🗓️ Last: Loss vs Joshua Van (TKO, Dec 2025) 🧨 8 KO/TKO, 12 SUB, 10 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,808 (Great, #1# FLW) The division's longest-reigning champ before Van and still its #1# by ELO. A world-class grappler with 12 submissions who wants this rematch to prove the first result was the injury, not the better man. 📈 The Combat Edge read: model gives champ Joshua Van 72% — the market only ~59% (-142). ELO alone splits it near dead even (Pantoja by a whisker, 1808 vs 1801), but the model leans hard to the younger champ's volume and momentum. One of five fights where the model overrules ELO. Full breakdown + prediction 👇

🥊 Heavyweight Bout: Gable Steveson vs Sean Sharaf 🇺🇸 Gable 'Loophole' Steveson (4-0) 📍 La Bodega Fight Club 📏 5'11" | Age: 26 🗓️ Last: Win vs Elisha Ellison (TKO, Jul 2026) 🧨 4 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 0 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,605 (Solid, #102# HW) Olympic gold-medal wrestler, 4-0 with four finishes. Still rated low by ELO (#102# HW) purely because the sample is tiny — all the hype, little tape. 🇺🇸 Sean Sharaf (4-2) 📍 Xtreme Couture 📏 6'2" | Age: 33 🗓️ Last: Loss vs Steven Asplund (TKO, Dec 2025) 🧨 4 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 0 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,544 (#138# HW) Xtreme Couture heavyweight on a 2-fight skid. Every one of his six career results has come by KO/TKO — it's finish or be finished. 📈 The Combat Edge read: model gives Steveson 76% — far more cautious than a market that has him at a staggering -2400 (~96%). The model respects the résumé gap but flags how little tape we have on him (just four pro fights). You can't deny the athleticism, but it's not everything. Full breakdown + prediction 👇

🥊 Bantamweight Bout: Marlon Vera vs Charles Jourdain 🇪🇨 Marlon Vera (23-12-1) 📍 Team Oyama 📏 5'8" | Age: 33 🗓️ Last: Loss vs David Martinez (Decision, Feb 2026) 🧨 8 KO/TKO, 10 SUB, 5 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,710 (Good, #48# BW) The bigger name and the crowd favorite, but 'Chito' has gone cold across his recent run and needs urgency to turn it around. Still one of the division's harder hitters. 🇨🇦 Charles Jourdain (18-8-1) 📍 Academie Pro Star MMA 📏 5'9" | Age: 30 🗓️ Last: Win vs Kyler Phillips (Decision, Apr 2026) 🧨 8 KO/TKO, 7 SUB, 3 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,717 (Good, #43# BW) Canadian action fighter on a 3-fight run and a hair ahead on ELO (1717 vs 1710). Relentless pace and durability. 📈 The Combat Edge read: model gives Jourdain 70%, in line with the market (-205, ~67%). The model backs the fighter with momentum over the fading bigger name. Full breakdown + prediction 👇

🥊 Lightweight Bout: Mateusz Gamrot vs Quillan Salkilld 🇵🇱 Mateusz Gamrot (26-4) 📍 American Top Team 📏 5'10" | Age: 35 🗓️ Last: Win vs Esteban Ribovics (Submission, Apr 2026) 🧨 8 KO/TKO, 6 SUB, 12 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,828 (Great, #5# LW) Former title challenger, elite wrestling and a granite base. At 35 his path is to drag Salkilld into deep water and grind. 🇦🇺 Quillan Salkilld (12-1) 📍 Luistro Combat Academy 📏 6'0" | Age: 26 🗓️ Last: Win vs Beneil Dariush (TKO, May 2026) 🧨 5 KO/TKO, 4 SUB, 3 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,760 (Great, #15# LW) 12-1, a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, fresh off a one-round starching of Beneil Dariush. Fast hands and real pop. 📈 The Combat Edge read: model gives Salkilld 71% — even stronger than the market's ~60% (-150). ELO alone actually leans Gamrot (60%); the model sees the fight tilting to the 26-year-old. Full breakdown + prediction 👇

Welterweight Bout: Ty Miller vs Billy Ray Goff 🇺🇸 Ty Miller (7-0) 📍 Fit NHB 📏 6'2" | Age: 26 🗓️ Last: Win vs Adam Fugitt (TKO, Jan 2026) 🧨 3 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 4 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,654 (Good, #105# WW) 7-0 Fit NHB prospect, 6'2" of length with finishing pop and no blemishes yet. 🇺🇸 Billy Ray Goff (9-4) 📍 Dexter MMA 📏 5'10" | Age: 28 🗓️ Last: Loss vs Ramiz Brahimaj (Submission, May 2025) 🧨 7 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 2 DEC 📊 Combat Edge ELO: 1,634 (Solid, #130# WW) Heavy hands (7 KOs) but 0 career subs and coming off a submission loss — exposed if it goes to the floor. 📈 The Combat Edge read: model gives the unbeaten Miller 66% — length, the ELO edge, and Goff's grappling holes. Full breakdown + prediction 👇

UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld — 12 fights, and the model isn't playing it safe. Top of the card, ELO says Gamrot (1,828 over 1,760) — but the model flips it and gives 26-year-old Salkilld 71%. Most lopsided call on the card: Alexia Thainara at 87%. Fight Night Cards, bout by bout, all night. Full card + model picks 👇

As PFL merges with MVP, it challenges the notion that it doesn't have the same talent as the UFC, with its card this Friday featuring a higher average fighter Elo than UFC Belgrade on Saturday. Something to think about...