Suriname’s most destructive export meets France’s latest foray into Heavyweight greatness this Saturday (Feb. 27, 2021) when Jairzinho Rozenstruik attempts to make his case for a title shot at the expense of unbeaten prospect, Ciryl Gane. In addition, blue chip Light Heavyweight prospect Magomed Ankalaev meets Ukrainian finisher Nikita Krylov and Jimmie Rivera finally settles the score with old rival Pedro Munhoz.
Two more UFC Vegas 20 “Prelims” undercard bouts remain to preview and predict (check out the first batch here), and I’m pretty sure you haven’t got anything better to do on a Tuesday night than follow along with our breakdowns. Hit it!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing more “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., Feb. 27, 2021) when UFC Vegas 20: “Rozenstruik vs. Gane” returns to UFC APEX in Las. UFC 259 undercard preview: Complete online breakdown, predictions for top four (of 10) 'Prelims' matches on ESPN/ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., March 6, 2021) in Las Vegas: Cruz vs. Kenney, Yadong vs.
155 lbs.: Alexander Hernandez vs. Thiago Moises
Alexander Hernandez’s (12-3) brutal UFC debut knockout of Beneil Dariush and subsequent decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier put him on the fast track to Lightweight contender status, only for knockout losses to Donald Cerrone and Drew Dober and a highly questionable decision win against Francisco Trinaldo to leave him fighting for his Octagon life. He came up big when it counted in Oct. 2020, however, battering Chris Gruetzemacher in 106 seconds to earn “Performance of the Night.”
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Though both men are the same height, he’ll have a slight 1.5-inch reach advantage.
Thiago Moises (14-4) — a former RFA champion and LFA title challenger — punched his ticket to the Octagon in 2018 with a first-round knockout on “Contender Series: Brazil.” Though he lost two of his first three UFC appearances, he enters the cage this weekend having beaten Michael Johnson and Bobby Green in succession.
His nine professional finishes include six by submission.
This fight will come down almost entirely to Hernandez’s approach. Lethal as Moises can be, he’s markedly less dangerous off the back foot. Indeed, if Hernandez comes out looking to be the boss — as he did in his first two Octagon appearances and the Gruetzemacher knockout — he’s got the skills to bully the Brazilian around the ring and neutralize his most effective weapons. If he tries to stick-and-move his way to victory like he did against Trinaldo and Dober, Moises will overwhelm him in short order.
Even with his issues, I’m picking Hernandez to sprawl-and-brawl his way to victory. That last beatdown win should give him the confidence necessary to ramp up his aggression and prevent Moises from taking charge. In the end, “The Great” makes it two straight with power punches and perhaps a takedown or two.
Prediction: Hernandez via unanimous decision
205 lbs.: Alonzo Menifield vs. William Knight
Alonzo Menifield (9-2) needed just eight seconds to finish Dashawn Boatwright on “Contender Series” and earn himself a UFC contract on his second try. Though he started his UFC career strong with brutal knockouts of Vinicius Moreira and Paul Craig — the latter of which earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus — he subsequently came up short in upset losses to Devin Clark and Ovince St. Preux.
None of his nine victories have lasted longer than 5:32.
William Knight’s (9-1) upset knockout of Herdem Alacabek in 2019 earned him a developmental contract, and though he lost to Tafon Nchukwi two fights later, an impressive finish of Cody Brundage in his return to “Contender Series” led to a UFC debut just three weeks later. There, he used effective top control to beat fellow series alum Aleksa Camur by unanimous decision in his first professional trip to the judges.
He gives up two inches of height and three inches of reach to Menifield.
There is a right way and a wrong way to fight Knight, and to my eternal frustration, everyone seems dead-set on going about it the wrong way. He’s actually quite limited on the feet and not much of an offensive wrestler, but opponents insist on trying to initiate the grappling with him, allowing him to reverse and unleash his genuinely scary ground-and-pound. All you have to do to beat this guy is ignore how jacked he is, avoid the leg kicks, and beat him up with punches the way Nchukwi did.
On paper, Menifield has the tools to do all that — the way he blew up two takedown-focused fighters in Moreira and Craig should give him plenty of confidence. At the same time, he struggled badly to deal with the fairly fragile Clark’s clinch aggression and seemed utterly flummoxed by Ovince St. Preux’s length, so he might not have the wherewithal to actually keep Knight off of him and fight smart. I say Knight wears him down against the fence before polishing him off late.
Prediction: Knight via third-round technical knockout
170 lbs.: Alex Oliveira vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov
Alex Oliveira (22-9-1) halted a three-fight losing streak with consecutive decisions over Max Griffin and Peter Sobotta, upping his Octagon record to 11-6 in the process. “Cowboy” then got the call to welcome M-1 champ Shavkat Rakhmonov to the Octagon, only to fall victim to the Kazakh’s guillotine late in the first round.
Twelve of his 17 finishes have come by form of knockout.
Despite moving up in weight for his “Contender Series” bout against Jordan Williams, Ramazan Kuramagomedov (8-0) entered as a massive favorite, but only managed to eke out a narrow split decision that failed to earn him a contract. He has since won two straight, including a submission of Trevor Ollison under the Cage Fury banner in Sept. 2020.
He replaces Randy Brown on just five days’ notice.
When Kuramagomedov controls the pace, he’s a delight to watch, mixing his versatile power kicks with sharp combination punching. When he can’t find his comfort zone — like what happened against Williams — his defense can fall apart. The question, then, is whether Oliveira can use his physicality and raw power to prevent Kuramagomedov from getting a proper flow going.
I’ve flip-flopped a couple times, but I think Kuramagomedov gets the nod. A big part of Williams’ success was his implacability and willingness to answer volume with volume. Oliveira, by contrast, is a relatively low-output fighter who often relies on racking up top control to conserve energy. That’s not going to work against a stronger wrestler and more versatile striker. Like Nicolas Dalby and others before him, Kuramagomedov survives the early blitz to steadily take apart “Cowboy” down the stretch.
Ufc 251 Predictions Prelims
Prediction: Kuramagomedov via unanimous decision
UFC Vegas 20’s main- and co-main events both figure to be fireworks, and there are some firefights to be found earlier in the evening as well. See you Saturday, Maniacs.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 20 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 20: “Rozenstruik vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record for 2021: 26-12
Predictions! UFC Vegas 21 ‘Prelims’ Preview – Pt. 2
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing more “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., March 13, 2021) when UFC Vegas 21: “Edwards vs. Muhammad” returns to UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Vegas 21 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
After a star-studded pay-per-view (PPV), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to standard ESPN+ this Saturday (March 6, 2021) with another show inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Leading the way is Welterweight contender Leon Edwards, who takes on late-notice opponent Belal Muhammad in his first fight since July 2019. Earlier in the evening, Ryan Spann tries to bounce back from a rough loss against the resurgent Misha Cirkunov, while Dan Ige looks to do the same against Gavin Tucker.
We’ve got three more UFC Vegas 21 “Prelims” bouts to preview and predict (check out the first batch here), so let’s not waste anymore time …
185 lbs.: Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart
Eryk Anders (13-5) followed up his successful LFA title run with wins in three of his first four Octagon appearances, only to lose his next three in quick succession. Victories over Vinicius Moreira and Gerald Meerschaert put him back on track, though he failed to get past Krzysztof Jotko in his most recent effort.
He’ll have one inch of height and reach on “The Dentist”
Darren Stewart (12-6) stumbled his way to an 0-3 (1 NC) UFC start, though he did walk away with “Fight of the Night” for his terrific war with Julian Marquez. He’s gone on to win five of his next eight, earning another two post-fight bonuses along the way.
Eight of his professional victories have come inside the distance, seven by form of knockout.
Now here’s a fascinating crossroads tussle. Anders went from profoundly entertaining and promising to consistently underwhelming, while Stewart went from genuinely hapless to utterly devastating. Anders likely has the tools to win this, but Stewart’s far more likely to fully unleash his own arsenal, which has me leaning the Brit’s way.
Stewart just powers through adversity far better than Anders does, and Anders’ lack of a great takedown game should give Stewart free reign to knuckle down and overpower him. Whether in a slugfest or a slow-paced slog, Stewart lands more and heavier blows to seal the win.
Prediction: Stewart via unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Cortney Casey vs. J.J. Aldrich
Following a length run at 115 pounds, Cortney Casey (9-8) announced her arrival in the Featherweight division by tapping Mara Romero Borella with a bonus-winning armbar. One month later, she stepped up on short notice against Gillian Robertson, who caught her in a rear-naked choke late in the third round.
Four of her seven stoppage wins have come by form of knockout.
Though her efforts on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23 failed to result in an immediate Octagon invite, J.J. Aldrich (8-4) went on to win four of her next five following an unsuccessful debut against Juliana Lima. Then came young gun Sabina Mazo, who defeated her by narrow split decision in Jan. 2020.
Though the shorter of the two by two inches, she’ll enjoy a slight reach advantage.
For a match up between striking specialists with zero UFC knockouts between them, this could end up being a lot of fun. Aldrich clearly has the edge in speed and crispness, while Casey’s physicality and relentlessness allow her to trade hands with almost anyone in the division. It will come down to whether Aldrich’s mobile sharp-shooting pleases the judges more than Casey’s flurries and forward movement.
Casey once went to three consecutive split decisions, so there’s no telling what will actually happen after the final bell rings, but between the aforementioned speed advantage and Casey’s lack of upper-body movement, Aldrich will end up landing the cleaner shots. And I say that sways at least two judges.
Prediction: Aldrich via split decision
135 lbs.: Rani Yahya vs. Ray Rodriguez
Now in his nineteenth year as a professional, Rani Yahya (26-10-1) makes the walk this weekend in the midst of a 7-2-1 run dating back to 2014. He is winless since 2018, however, dropping a decision to Ricky Simon and drawing with Enrique Barzola in his most recent effort.
He has dispatched 20 professional opponents via submission.
Ray Rodriguez (16-7) got his first crack at UFC stardom on “Contender Series,” where he was summarily mauled by Tony Gravely. One year later, he stepped up on short notice to face Brian Kelleher in the Octagon, tapping to a guillotine 39 seconds into the first round.
He’ll enjoy a three-inch reach advantage.
Like Demian Maia, Yahya has his mixed martial arts (MMA) game down to a science: he’ll come out guns blazing in pursuit of takedowns, which he has enough energy to properly attempt for about eight minutes. His gameplan is to either score an early submission, making up for his relative lack of physicality through world-class technique and sheer effort, or if that fails, last just long enough to win the second round and avoid losing the third 10-8.
Ufc 253 Prelims Predictions
Plan A should be plenty against Rodriguez, whose submission defense has consistently failed him throughout his career and whose takedown defense looks similarly porous. Yahya can only threaten with that ground game for so long, but with such a considerable gap in grappling prowess, he’ll get the finish well before his gas tank empties.
Prediction: Yahya via first-round submission
UFC Vegas 21 features a solid main event and several other quality contender clashes make for a nice evening of fights. See you Saturday, Maniacs.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 21 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 21: “Edwards vs. Muhammad” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record for 2021: 32-20
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