UFC 271 | Prelim Preview
Saturday, February 12th (10:00 PM EST Main Card, 8:00 PM EST Prelims, 6:00 PM EST Early Prelims)
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jared Vanderaa
BATHROOM BREAK - Arlovski is a much different fighter now than the action-packed hero that won the UFC Heavyweight belt in 2005. He's turned into a gatekeeping decisionator in his 40s and points fighting guys like Jared Vanderaa is exactly how he's been able to claim the record for most UFC Heavyweight wins. Vanderaa has been decimated by the only 2 fighters he has ever faced that actually showed any ability at this sport whatsoever. That isn't the kind of fighter that makes it past Arlovski's gate.
Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O'Neill
WATCH - #12 Casey O'Neill is undefeated, has started her UFC career with 3 finish victories in a row, and is still only 24 years of age. In women's flyweight terms she is basically the greatest prospect the division has ever had! Modafferi on the other hand is 39, and horrifically boring, alternating between wins and losses by decision. Her DANA Record alone is giving me nightmares. This fight should have the most one-sided coverage possible as both fans and UFC executives alike pray for a dominant O'Neill win.
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
WATCH - FINALLY! Feel like we've written a write-up for this fight a million times before! Well guess what, you don't need to know anything. It's top 10 men's flyweights and it's going to be a banger!
William Knight vs. Maxim Grishin
WATCH - Maxim Grishin is mediocre, 37, and struggles to make weight. William Knight is okay, which appears to be enough to start sniffing the rankings in the puddle that is light heavyweight. This fight only matters if Knight wins, and it especially matters if he wins with a nice finish, which he has shown flashes of being able to accomplish before.
Mana Martinez vs. Ronnie Lawrence
WATCH - Insanely talented, young bantamweight prospects. Not to mention incredibly exciting to watch. This is the future of MMA right here.
Alexander Hernandez vs. Renato Moicano
WATCH - From Riches to Rags, former top featherweight contender Renato Moicano is now an unranked light heavyweight fighting on the prelims against Alexander "15 minutes of fame before getting TKOd by Cowboy" Hernandez. They may have fallen far but they still deserve to be way up higher on this card.
Carlos Ulberg vs. Fabio Cherant
BATHROOM BREAK - Combined 0-3, all by finish. This could be the best fight in UFC history, and you still wouldn't be missing much by skipping this fight.
AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun
WATCH - Malkoun pulled off an incredible upset while coming off a round 1 KO loss when he dominated a hyped prospect who the UFC tried to feed him to in his second UFC fight. He's still 6 years younger than the debuting Dobson, who similarly to Malkoun's last opponent has a lot of wins by finish. Will be interesting to see if Malkoun can keep improving or if his old ways of getting rocked early will come back to haunt him.
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov
BATHROOM BREAK - Douglas Silva de Andrade is a clear journeyman and Morozov is too old to be considered a prospect at bantamweight.
Jeremiah Wells vs. Blood Diamond
WATCH - Wells had an insane debut, smashing the only welterweight not named Kamaru Usman to ever beat Colby Covington. Can Blood "Mike Mathetha" Diamond's debut top that?
*Nothing contained in this post is financial advice, please bet at your own risk