Prediction: Micallef via KO
Micallef isn’t the flashiest striker. He’s not going to sit there and spam combinations or look slick in the pocket, but he’s a tank with a nasty left high kick and a strong grappling base. And the thing about that left high kick? It’s not just a weapon, it’s the weapon for this fight. The way he whips it up, it doesn’t even matter if Oban Elliott tries to block—it’s still getting through, wrapping around, and landing with force.
Now, Elliott definitely looks like the more complete striker on paper. He’s quicker, he’s got more tools, he can put together volume, angles, and tempo changes. He’s the guy you’d normally favor in a striking match. But there’s one glaring hole that makes all that irrelevant: every time he dips his head off to the right, he’s basically begging to eat a left high kick. And it’s not like this is a one off habit. It’s baked into his style. He dips, he moves, but he doesn’t have that defensive cover to keep himself safe. Against most fighters, you can get away with that. Not against someone like Micallef, who’s built to punish exactly that mistake.
On top of that, if by some chance Elliott does avoid the kick, he still has to deal with Micallef’s grappling. The dude just looks stronger and if he gets his hands on Elliott, the fight gets real ugly for him real fast.