UFC 331 is less than 24 hours away…
It all goes down this weekend (Saturday, September 19, 2026) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. In the main event, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight champion Joshua Van running it back against his suddenly heated rival and former title holder Alexandre Pantoja.
We have a weekly series at MMAmania.com called “Weekend Lock,” where we share one bet predicted in LA when the chaotic dust settles. We also want to hear what our readers think (that’s you!), so tell us your most confident UFC 331 Betting Lock in the comments section below (see all UFC 331 odds here).
Summary of last week: We are back in the win column as Tommy McMillen vs. Marwan Rahiki went over 1.5 rounds in an epic fight (watch the highlights).
Let’s keep rolling below:
Lightweight heavyweight wrecking ball Iwo Baraniewski will take a huge step up in competition this weekend when he clashes with the longtime UFC veteran Alonzo Menifield.
And I’ll admit I had to look pretty hard to find odds I actually liked on this one.
The obvious bouts – under 1.5 rounds, under 2.5 rounds and Baraniewski by knockout – were all too juicy for my taste. So, I dug a little deeper.
I’m going to lock myself away this week Baraniewski wins by KO/TKO/DQ or decision (-185).
Baraniewski has been nothing but pure chaos since arriving in the UFC.
The Polish powerhouse has scored four straight first-round knockouts inside the Octagon, and somehow each one has come in less than two minutes (like this). In fact, Baraniewski owns a 100 percent professional finish, with every win coming in the first round.
The guy just doesn’t waste time.
However, Menifield is by far the best fighter Baraniewski has faced.
The longtime UFC veteran has been sneaky-good underdog bet over the last couple of years and has won three of his last four fights. He’s experienced, ridiculously powerful, and more than capable of turning any lightweight fight into absolute chaos.
Menifield has plenty of knockouts on his resume, which means Baraniewski can’t just recklessly sprint across the cage without consequence.
However, I think the younger fighter is going too far.
Baraniewski’s a combination of youth, speed and ridiculous power should allow him to overpower the elder Menifield. We’ve seen Menifield involved in a lot of things crazy exchanges throughout his UFC careerand it’s an incredibly dangerous play against someone who has wiped out opponents almost immediately.
Ideally, Baraniewski will do what he’s been doing and explode Menifield early.
But that’s why I like this prop.
Menifield is a significant step up in competition and has enough experience to survive Baraniewski’s primary attack. If that happens, I don’t want to lose my bet just because Baraniewski is forced to fight smart and win a decision.
Menifield has been a profitable underdog for some reason. He is powerful, experienced and has faced significantly better competition than Baraniewski. We also haven’t learned much about how Baraniewski reacts when someone survives his first two minutes of insanity.
That’s the biggest unknown here.
Menifield could pull him into unfamiliar territory, test his cardio and potentially expose holes we just haven’t seen yet.
But I bet Baraniewski’s physical advantages won’t let that become a problem.
Give me Iwo Baraniewski to win by KO/TKO/DQ or Decision (-185) for this week’s “Weekend Lock”.
Iwo Baraniewski via TKO/KO/DQ: -170
Via Iwo Baraniewski’s submission: +900
By the decision of Iwo Baraniewski: +1100
Alonzo Menifield via TKO/KO/DQ: +400
Alonzo Menifield via submission: +800
Alonzo Menifield by decision: +1100
Be sure to check out our comprehensive event archive for the latest and greatest UFC 331 news and notes. here.
