UFC 273 | Prelim Preview
Saturday, April 9th (10:00 PM EST Main Card, 8:00 PM EST Prelims, 6:00 PM EST Early Prelims)
Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen
WATCH - Once again the UFC refuses to make up its mind on which fights will be on the main card until only a few days remain before the event. I don’t mind the bump for Mark Madsen, a former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler who is now undefeated in the MMA world. But this fight is a hard sell as a prospect builder when Madsen is already 37 years old and isn’t even in the rankings yet. He really needed a top 15 guy here and not a 39 year old veteran like Vinc Pichel. Madsen needs to win big, take little damage, and fight again soon cause the clock is running out.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
MAYBE WATCH? - There is absolutely no winning with these two heavyweight fighters who only live on the polar ends of the entertainment spectrum. If I deem this to be a bathroom break after they both are coming off recent snoozer losses than this fight would be destined to be 1 round of swanging chaos and a crazy knockout. Says a lot about the heaviest division that these two are ranked in the top 10.
Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington
BATHROOM BREAK - Still boycotting all Aspen Ladd fights since she temporarily went up to featherweight and gave us the worst main event in UFC history.
Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
WATCH - You know the UFC really really really wants someone to get a win when they give them a fight against Mickey Gall. Happy for Malott as he looked phenomenal on the contender series and is likely to capitalize on this opportunity with a finish in his UFC debut.
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Jared Vanderaa
BATHROOM BREAK - One of the most interesting loser leaves UFC matchups I’ve ever seen. Vanderaa has a poor UFC record but has only gotten crushed by rankings-bound opponents and put up a really solid fight in his other appearances. Oleinik’s age would be impossible to overcome in almost all divisions but at heavyweight he has been able to remain relevant with his crazy ability to find submissions against some very scary opponents. I’ll be sure to follow along from the toilet cause these two without an aggressive and pressuring opponent are the definition of snail pace!
Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd
WATCH - Some people get Mickey Gall for their debut. Others get a man who just submitted a world champion in BJJ in his last fight. Life ain’t fair!
Piera Rodriguez vs. Kay Hansen
BATHROOM BREAK - Fighter who has had 2 boring losses in a row vs a fighter that couldn’t even get a finish on the contender series.
Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
WATCH - MEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT! LETS GO! Not promising that these are the most talented prospects in their division but they love to swang and bang and it’s a blast to watch at these tiny weight classes!
*Nothing contained in this post is financial advice, please bet at your own risk