Prediction: Steven Nguyen via Decision
He’s not the most technical, he’s not the most dangerous—but he fights. He bites down, moves forward, and puts heat on his opponents from the jump. That kind of pressure matters, especially against someone like Yahya who straight up doesn’t like being the one to lead.
Yahya’s biggest problem? He’s got tools—legit power, decent grappling—but zero urgency. His defense is wide open, chin up, hands low, and when the action heats up, he fades backward or hesitates. You can’t do that against a guy like Nguyen who doesn’t give you time to think. Once Nguyen gets rolling, it’s constant forward pressure, volume, and cage control. And the more he goes, the less Yahya fires back. That’s the problem. Yahya starts reacting instead of fighting, and once that happens, Nguyen just takes over and coasts.
On paper, Yahya should be a problem in this matchup. He hits hard, and if he actually leaned into his wrestling, maybe he could slow things down and make it grimy. But every time he’s been under real pressure, it looks like he second-guesses himself. He freezes up, and his offense vanishes. Meanwhile, Nguyen is the exact opposite. He doesn’t care if he’s getting touched—he’s still walking you down, still throwing, still making it a fight. That energy alone can break guys, especially ones who are already uncomfortable in the cage.