2 high-octane Featherweights just inches far from competitor status fight on “Fight Island” this Wednesday (July 15, 2020) when Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige heading the second of 4 Abu Dhabi cards. UFC on ESPN 13 also includes a Flyweight clash in between Tim Elliott and Ryan Benoit, as well as a Featherweight crossroads fight pitting Jimmie Rivera versus Cody Stamann.
Weve got another 7 “Prelims” undercard bouts in the dugout, all of them signing up with the main card on ESPN/ESPN+. Since weve got a busy week ahead of us, were doing them all in one batch. Delight in!
185 lbs.: John Phillips vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev is admittedly going up in weight for this short-notice fight and Phillips undoubtedly strikes like an especially pasty meteor, but “Borz” has shown that he doesnt dally on the feet when the takedown exists. He takes Phillips to the mat and either pounds or chokes him out in the first few minutes.
John Phillips (22-9) didnt make rather the immediate splash he desired in the Octagon, dropping his very first three battles to Charles Byrd, Kevin Holland and Jack Marshman. He lastly managed to showcase his notorious power in Sept. 2019 with a 14-second knockout of Alen Amedovski that made the Welshman a $50,000 reward.
He replaces “Contender Series” veteran Dusko Todorovic on less than one weeks notification.
If Chimaev is even half the prospect he looks like, he could be among the most significant signings this year. In between his excellent fumbling and powerful and remarkably crisp stand up, he might be Swedens most appealing blended martial artist considering that a prime Gustafsson. Even if he does not turn out to be all that, though, he must still have sufficient to damage Phillips, whose complacency with his power led him to never develop any boxing or grappling abilities.
Khamzat Chimaev (6-0)– a training partner of Alexander Gustafsson and other UFC veterans at Allstars Training Center– ran through his first 6 professional challengers in less than 2 rounds apiece. His 2019 project saw him starch unbeaten Sambo champion Ikram Aliskerov with a gnarly uppercut and choke out knockout artist Mzwandile Hlongwa with a second-round darce.
All of his wins have come inside the range, 19 of them by form of knockout.
Forecast: Chimaev via first-round submission
145 lbs.: Ricardo Ramos vs. Lerone Murphy
Ricardo Ramos (14-2) created a 4-1 Octagon record at Bantamweight, beating the similarity Kyung Ho Kang and Journey Newson, prior to going up to 145 pounds last year. His divisional debut set about as smoothly as possible, as “Carcacinha” choked out Eduardo Garagorri to earn a “Performance of the Night” reward.
Hes dispatched seven professional challengers by submission and another two by knockout.
4 months after a first-round knockout win in his native England, Lerone Murphy (8-0-1) headed to Abu Dhabi to deal with Zubaira Tukhugov in his Octagon debut. He suffered an early knockdown, “The Miracle” took benefit of his opponents cardio problems to combat his method to a split draw.
Hell delight in a 1.5-inch reach advantage.
Murphy is still the more unsafe striker, however Ramos is adept on the feet, and the hazard of the Brazilians ground game ought to go some method towards restricting Murphys desire to let his feet and hands go. Unless Murphy can catch him coming in, Ramos takes him down and concludes a fast rear-naked choke.
As praiseworthy as his efforts against Tukhugov were, the fact stays that “Warrior” took Murphy down efficiently at will, even when gassed to death. Thats more than a little worrying versus Ramos, a capable wrestler with a lethal submission video game. Even if hes not a physically dominant as Tukhugov, being a veteran Bantamweight, Ramos still looks most likely to put Murphy on his back without problem and control from there.
Prediction: Ramos via first-round submission
205 lbs.: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Andreas Michailidis
” The Spartan” changes Vinicius Moreira– who evaluated favorable for COVID-19– on less than two weeks notice.
Bukauskas doesnt get the virtual “gim me” he had with the underwhelming Moreira, but this still looks like a successful debut in the making. Michailidis is a natural Middleweight, making Bukauskas own absence of size a non-issue, and is significantly beat on the feet. Though the Greeks fumbling and ground video game are a risk, particularly considering that Bukauskas has chronic problems with getting removed versus the fence, his lack of cardio and Bukauskas rushing abilities mean hell rapidly run out of steam if he goes that path.
He has not won by choice given that his pro launching, knocking out seven.
Andreas Michailidis (12-3) rebounded from a loss to Vladimir Mineev with 3 consecutive first-round knockouts, consisting of a wheel kick surface of UFC veteran Marcel Fortuna. His efforts set up a Cage Warriors Middleweight title bout against Nathias Frederick, just for the event to fall through because of the continuous pandemic.
Lithuanias Modestas Bukauskas (10-2) has won six directly, all by stoppage, given that striking a two-fight skid in 2016. In his most noteworthy fights to date, he knocked out Marthin Hamlet Nielsen for the Cage Warriors title in June of in 2015 and did the same to Riccardo Nosiglia in his first defense.
In between Bukauskas speed, cardio and crisper striking, Michailidis needs a finish in the first 5 minutes if he wants the win. Chances are he will not get it. Bukauskas makes it through some hairy grappling in the early going to beat and outlive down a fading “Spartan” late.
Forecast: Bukauskas through second-round technical knockout
145 lbs.: Jared Gordon vs. Chris Fishgold
Chris Fishgold (18-3-1)– the previous Cage Warriors Featherweight champ– put his UFC debut loss to Calvin Kattar behind him with a second-round submission of Daniel Teymur. He couldnt do the very same to Makwan Amirkhani, who tapped the Englishman with an anaconda choke in Stockholm.
Thirteen of his professional wins have actually visited submission, all but one by guillotine or rear-naked choke.
Jared Gordon (15-4) beat down Michel Quinones in his UFC debut prior to effectively going back to Lightweight with a choice over Nova Uniao veteran Hacran Dias. He has considering that had a hard time to regain that momentum, suffering knockout losses in three of his last 4 bouts.
The oddsmakers currently have this pegged as the closest battle on the undercard and Im inclined to concur. What narrowly edges it for the Brit is that according to UFCs website, this is a Featherweight bout.
” Flash” Gordon is the taller male by one inch.
Now, hell have to make it with 3 knockout losses worth of extra trauma and under the non-ideal circumstances of “Fight Island.” Needing to ward off a wrestler and submission artist as powerful as Fishgold with that sort of luggage sounds like a tall ask– Fishgold scores an early takedown and finds his neck quickly after.
Forecast: Fishgold through first-round submission
125 lbs.: Diana Belbita vs. Liana Jojua
Georgias Liana Jojua (7-3) short-circuited possibility Marina Mokhnatkinas rise with a bulk choice victory in 2018, claiming the Fight Nights Global Bantamweight belt while doing so. Sarah Moras showed a taller task, pounding Jojua out midway through the 3rd round.
Jojua severely underperformed in her UFC debut, however Im prepared to chalk up a good piece of her struggles to being exceptionally undersized for Bantamweight. I expect her to look a reasonable bit better at 125 pounds, especially with the Octagon jitters ostensibly behind her. Still, Im not exactly sure thats enough for me to pick her here; beyond the significant height and reach advantages, Belbita showed hard to hold down versus Molly McCann and threw more than five times as numerous strikes because bout as Jojua did versus Moras.
” She-Wolf” has actually scored 5 first-round surfaces throughout her time in the paid ranks.
Prediction: Belbita through consentaneous choice.
Shell have 3 inches of height and six inches of reach on Jojua.
Diana Belbita (13-5) brought a four-fight win streak into her Octagon debut, which pitted her versus increasing possibility Molly McCann in Boston. Regardless of a remarkably strong effort, “Warrior Princess” eventually fell by decision after quiting five takedowns to “Meatball.”.
While Belbitas 3 submission losses ought to provide Jojua some hope, the Romanians length and output will make really getting in on Belbitas hips a problem. Barring the relocation to her correct weight class turning out to be a panacea for Jojuas issues, Belbita overwhelms her on the feet to claim a wide choice.
135 lbs.: Jack Shore vs. Aaron Philips.
Aaron Phillips (12-3) rinsed of UFC in 2014 after a winless (0-2) run, then suffered an injury technical knockout loss in his next effort. After almost three years away, he went back to win each of his last five, 4 of them in less than two rounds apiece.
He steps in for the COVID-afflicted Anderson dos Santos on 10 days notice.
Philips initial two-fight UFC tenure saw him land 56 cumulative considerable strikes and get removed 11 times in the span of 30 minutes. As soon as again battle with wrestlers and get dropped in the procedure, his recent efforts on the local scene saw him. It does not take a Sherlock Holmes-esque feat of deductive reasoning to figure out that Shores going to brutalize him.
Prediction: Shore through second-round submission.
” Tank” stays a standout prospect in a department full to breaking with young talent, boasting the skills to stay up to date with Philips on the feet and entirely demolish him on the mat. He racks up the ground-and-pound until Philips neck emerges.
Wales Jack Shore (12-0) tore through the Cage Warriors ranks, knocking out Mike Ekundayo for their Bantamweight title and protecting it with a third-round submission of Scott Malone. He was similarly dominant in his UFC debut, in which he made “Performance of the Night” by tapping Nohelin Hernandez.
” Tank” has finished 11 of 12 professional challengers, with just UFC veterinarian Vaughan Lee lasting the distance.
205 lbs.: Jorge Gonzalez vs. Kenneth Bergh.
Mexicos Jorge Gonzalez (16-4) scored the greatest win of his career when he knocked out UFC veterinarian Luke Barnatt in February of in 2015, establishing a Professional Fight League (PFL) competition quote. He suffered a loss to unbeaten Nasrudin Nasrudinov and consequently choked out unbeaten Marcos Rodriguez when that fell through due to injury.
Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record for 2020: 51-46-1.
Prediction: Bergh by means of first-round submission.
After an unsuccessful bid on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23, Kenneth Bergh (8-0) fought his way onto “Contender Series,” where he suffered a first-round submission loss to underdog Antonio Trocoli. The loss was subsequently overturned because of Trocolis failed drug test, given that which Bergh has stopped two challengers in a combined 62 seconds.
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The oddsmakers presently have this pegged as the closest fight on the undercard and Im inclined to concur. What directly edges it for the Brit is that according to UFCs website, this is a Featherweight bout. Jojua terribly underperformed in her UFC debut, however Im willing to chalk up a great portion of her battles to being extremely small for Bantamweight. Philips original two-fight UFC tenure saw him land 56 cumulative substantial strikes and get taken down 11 times in the span of 30 minutes. I am extremely much not offered on Bergh being a prospect, especially after the Trocoli fight, but he must dominate here.
It might lack the champion action of the cards that sandwich it, however a card that includes Kattar vs. Ige, Elliott vs. Benoit, and Rivera vs. Stamann figures to be loads of enjoyable. See you Wednesday, Maniacs.
Berghs reckless aggression does admittedly provide Gonzalez a genuine punchers opportunity, specifically if he follows in Barnatts example and gets too comfortable teeing off on Gonzalezs vulnerable face. The likeliest outcome still sees “Ymir” take him down early, mash him with elbows, and choke him out soon after.
He has scored seven first-round surfaces, four of them by submission.
Keep in mind that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 13 fight card this week, beginning with the ESPN+” Prelims” that are arranged to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the main card portion that will also stream on ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.
He changes Germanys Timo Feucht on five days notice.
I am quite not offered on Bergh being a prospect, especially after the Trocoli fight, but he should control here. Gonzalez is a slugger to the core, disdaining technical striking or any semblance of defense in favor of hurling haymakers. He can grapple a bit and wrestle, he hasnt got much to offer besides well-timed entries on reactive takedowns that he lacks the polish to finish correctly.
