UFC 277 | Prelim Preview
Saturday, July 30th (10:00 PM EST Main Card, 8:00 PM EST Prelims, 6:00 PM EST Early Prelims)
Alex Morono vs. Matthew Semelsberger
WATCH - Two of the more interesting unranked welterweights on the cusp of getting (and getting demolished by) ranked opponents. Morono has a wild fighting style but has been beating up washed vets like Cowboy and big name scrubs like Mickey Gall. Semelsberger had two KO victories within the first 16 seconds of the fight two different times last year which is absolutely insane, but outside of that chaos he really hasn't shown any impressive skill or signs of longevity.
MMAalgo Bet - Alex Morono 3.5u @ +135 (better than -112.2)
Drew Dober vs. Rafael Alves
WATCH - Dober always brings it. He is the quintessential action-packed hero just outside the rankings lightweight hero. Alves will have to show up big to pass this test.
Don'Tale Mayes vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab
BATHROOM BREAK - Abdelwahab has one of those pre-UFC records that make you turn on the fight praying you are about to witness the start of something amazing. But this is light heavyweight, and even undefeated power punching debuters are sure to disappoint here. And while Mayes has started to look better he's still a mediocre fighter in a terrible division.
Drakkar Klose vs. Rafa Garcia
WATCH - This is just a worse version of the Dober Alves fight, but it's still top 30 lightweight fight so it will probably be a banger. These guys just have far lower ceilings and are in the 20-30 range rather than 10-20. Still impressive for the deepest division of the highest level promotion but not exactly a fight you go out of your way to watch.
Michael Morales vs. Adam Fugitt
WATCH - Michael Morales is the undefeated UFC hype train on this card that you actually want to latch on to. He's only 23 and absolutely smoked his opponent in his debut earlier this year. Matching him up against a debuter for his second fight is some smart matchmaking by the UFC to continue to build him up slowly and carefully.
Joselyne Edwards vs. Ji Yeon Kim
BATHROOM BREAK - Edwards is young and could reinvent herself in the flyweight division after her most recent win. Which is why she's immediately returning to bantamweight. Maybe the UFC should just cut both if she loses to Kim, who I'd pick to lose against literally anyone else.
MMAalgo Bet - Joselyne Edwards 3.5u @ -120 (better than -137.6)
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria
WATCH - Pretty similar story to the Abdelwahab Mayes fight except this debuter has greater potential. Potieria may not be undefeated but he has a lot more experience and of a much higher quality than Abdelwahab.
Orion Cosce vs. Blood Diamond
BATHROOM BREAK - This is a regional MMA fight and we refuse to pretend it's not.
*Nothing contained in this post is financial advice, please bet at your own risk