Tonight we have our very first UFC event live on ESPN and we have an amazing main event for the Flyweight Championship. Henry Cejudo is defending his Flyweight belt against Bantamweight Champ TJ Dillashaw. This is going to be an explosive fight between these guys. In the co-Main Event we have former NFL star Greg Hardy making his debut against Allen Crowder. On the undercard we have guys like Yancy Medeiros, Joseph Benavidez and Glover Teixeira. All fights, including prelims, are being shown all across ESPN’s network. Per usual, we go to the early prelims for our first couple of bouts for tonight’s card.

Early Prelims 6:00pm EST (ESPN+)

 

Kyle Stewart 11-1 vs Chance Rencountre 12-3

Stewart has four KO/TKO, three submissions, and four decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five fights and has six first-round wins. With Stewart, you have heavy hands, fast footwork and great angles for striking.

Rencountre has six KO/TKO, two submission and four decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five fights with five first-round wins. What you’re looking for in Rencountre is fast hands, great striking, and just a solid, all-around game.

This is a fairly even match-up. Look for this fight to go back and forth between standing and groundwork. Stewart needs to press his opponent and look for a fast takedown. Recountre needs to control the center of the Octagon and be the dominant person in this fight. In the end, I see this fight going the distance and to the judge’s decision with Stewart coming out on top.

 

Belal Muhammad 14-2 vs Geoff Neal 10-2

Onto fight numero dos where we find Belal Muhammea, who has four KO/TKO wins along with 10 decision victories. He is 4-1 in his last five fights and has one first-round win. He is a Duke Rofus kickboxer and a purple belt in Jiu jitsu. He has one Fight of the Night bonus so we should expect fireworks here, even though he’s not the most elite knockout artist.

Geoff Neal has six KO/TKO, two submissions, and two decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five and of his 10 wins overall, he’s ended the fight in one round or less five times.

This fight, like the first one, is very evenly matched. Muhammad needs to be a counter puncher to be the most successful version of himself. His opponent will likely press the action, which bodes well for him be exactly that. He needs to watch for the head and leg kicks as he leaves himself vulnerable at times. He should try and take this fight to the ground as soon as he can especially considering ten of his wins are long drawn out fights that have ended in decisions. Neal will look to be the aggressor and push the pace while looking to land many different combinations. When the dust settles, I predict Muhammad is the one who comes out on top.

 

Dennis Bermudez 16-9 vs Te Edwards 6-2

In fight number three, we have the veteran Dennis Bermudez versus Te Edwards who will be making his octagon debut on Friday. Bermudez has four KO/TKO, three submissions, and nine decision wins. He is 1-4 in his last five but throughout his career he has four first-round wins. He has some impressive resume boosting wins over Max Holloway and Clay Guida. Bermudez was a collegiate star as an NCAA All American wrestler. He has two Fight of the Night, one Submission of the Night, two Performance of the Night bonuses. Bermudez was a member of Team Miller on The Ultimate Fighter and was the runner up that season.

Edwards has six KO’s. He is 4-1 in his last five and every single one of his wins are in the first-round. He has heavy and devastating strikes.

Decent matchup. Dennis will need a win to stay active and current in the UFC. He needs to control the fight and not let Te Edwards push the pace. He needs to look for a takedown and keep the fight on the ground. He will need to out wrestle Edwards and keep the dominant position and look for some ground and pound. Edwards will look to come out fast and furious as we’ve seen via his four first-round KO’s. He needs to have a good takedown defense and keep the fight on his feet giving him the best chance to end this with one shot. When the ref deems one of the fighters the winner, I predict that will be Te Edwards with another KO win.

 

Prelims 8:00pm EST ESPN

Cory Sandhagen 9-1 vs Mario Bautista 6-0

Sandhagen has four KO/TKO, two submissions and three decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five fights and four of which have come via first-round wins. He is well rounded.

Bautista has two KO/TKO, three wins by submissions and one decision win. He has two first-round wins and he specializes in Jiu jitsu.

This fight is extremely intriguing to watch because they’re both newcomers to the UFC scene. They’re both pretty unknown fighters, but they each bolster great records with just one loss between them. Sandhagen will look to keep this fight on his feet and avoid the Jiu jitsu of Bautista, which we’ve already mentioned is his featured plan of attack. Sandhagen needs to also avoid any takedown or clinch, because Bautista will look to get this fight on the ground quickly. On the flip side, Bautista needs to avoid the striking ability of Sandhagen. At the end of the fight, I believe Bautista will remain undefeated.

 

Alonzo Menfield 7-0 vs Vinicius Moreira 9-1

Menfield has six KO/TKO and one submission win and has five first-round wins of the seven. He has very heavy hands to go along with tons of power and very good speed.

Moreiera has one KO/TKO, and eight submission wins. He is 5-1 in his last six and has six first-round wins overall. He specializes in Jiu jitsu, which is apparent due to eight submission victories.

This is a classic striker vs grappler match. Menfield needs to avoid the ground as much as possible and he needs to have a good lead jab and keep Moreira from getting in to close because he’s so dominant on the ground. Moreira will look for a quick and early takedown and will look to smother Menfield, looking for a submission. In the end, I see Menfield coming out on top.

 

Ariane Lipski 11-3 vs Joanne Calderwood 10-3

Lipski has six KO/TKO, two submissions, and three decisions. She is on a nine-fight win streak and has won six times in the first-round. She is a Muay Thai specialist and this is her UFC debut.

Calderwood has five KO/TKO, one submission, and six decision wins. She is 3-2 in her last five and she has four first-round wins on her resume. She has a Muay Thai and Kickboxing background, ust like her opponent. She has one Fight of the Night bonus, which could lead to some aggressive fighting early and often.

This is going to be a great fight as both girl’s matchup well against each other. I see this fight staying on their feet the entire time as both have a majority of their wins via the KO/TKO. Lipski must press the action against the UFC vet and not back down. She does have a slight advantage on the ground if it goes there as she is more comfortable on the mat than Calderwood. Calderwood will look to counter in this one and we should expect to see her to gain the center of the octagon and be the aggressor. In the end I see the fight going all three rounds and Lipski winning her UFC debut.

 

Donald Cerrone 34-11 vs Alexander Hernandez 10-1

Cerrone has nine KO/TKO, seventeen submissions, and eight decision wins. He is 2-3 in his last five fights, but has ended fights 14 times in the first-round over his career. He is a well-rounded veteran that has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu and is a former kickboxer as well. He has quick hands and fast takedowns which has helped him to 34 MMA victories. He has quite the resume with wins over Jeremy Stephens, Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez, Benson Henderson, and Yancy Medeiros. He has three Fight of the Night, three Knockout of the Night, six Performance of the night, and two Submission of the night bonuses going for him tonight and if you don’t think that’s in the back of his mind, you’re kidding yourself.

Hernandez has four KO/TKO, two submissions, and four decision wins. He has an eight-fight win streak going and has five first-round wins to his name. He has an impressive win over Beneil Dariush, his biggest victory to date. He holds a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu but also has a wrestling background. He has one Performance of the night bonus so he his side of the fight is incentivized, like Cerrone’s is.

This is going to be one of the fights of the night. These two were already going at it during the press conference so expect to see fireworks in this one. Cerrone has the experience in the cage as he will look to control the fight and settle in quickly. He will look to setup leg kicks and jabs to gain distance and look for a takedown. Once on the ground he will start a ground and pound campaign and look for a submission or just finish off with strikes. Hernandez will need to push the pace and keep Donald on his heels. He needs to watch out for the leg kicks and big takedowns that Cerrone is known for. I’m siding with the veteran Donald Cerrone to come out on top by the end of this fight.

 

Main Card 10:00pm EST ESPN+

Glover Teixeira 27-7 vs Karl Roberson 7-1

Teixeira has seventeen KO/TKO’s, six submissions, and four decision wins. He is 2-3 in his last five fights but he’s someone that can end a fight in a flash as he has eighteen first-round victories. His biggest wins to date are against Rampage Jackson, Ryan Bader, and Rashad Evans. He is a fifth degree Karate black belt and a second degree Jiu Jitsu black belt and just for the hell of it has a boxing background too. This fight is quite incentivized for him as he has two Fight of the Night, one Performance of the Night, one Knockout of the Night, and one Submission of the Night bonuses.

Roberson has two KO/TKO, three submissions, and two decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five and has five first-round wins during his career. The most notable victory he’s had is a win over Darren Stewart.  

We’ve seen this seemingly throughout the whole card, but we have another match between a veteran and newcomer. Teixeira will look to use his jab to keep Roberson away to set up some clinch work and a possible takedown. He needs to control the fight and not let his younger opponent push him around, while Roberson -- the younger fighter -- will need to push the pace and keep Teixeira on the run. He should setup with some leg kicks and get inside Teixeira’s jab because of it. I favor the veteran, Glover Teixeira here.

 

Paige VanZant 7-4 vs Rachael Ostovich 4-4

VanZant has two KO/TKO, two submissions, and three decision wins, but is only 2-3 in her last five. She has one first-round win due to her constantly clinching while using her Jiu Jitsu background to her advantage. She has a win over Bec Rawlings and Felice Herring.

Ostovich has two submissions and two decision wins. She is 2-3 in her last five but has only stopped one opponent in the first-round. You may know her primarily from her time on “The Ultimate Fighter”.

This is a really good fight on paper. VanZant is going to press the action as she has great hands but she needs to be mindful of any clinch work as that is where Ostovich will be waiting to land some big punches. Ostovich will need to work to get into a clinch and work her judo, then use her judo to pin VanZant to the mat and work some ground and pound. This fight will go all 3 rounds with Paide VanZant coming out on top.

 

Joseph Benavidez 26-5 vs Dustin Ortiz 19-7

Joseph has seven KO/TKO, nine submissions, and ten decisions. He is 4-1 in his last five and has notable wins against Henry Cejudo -- who’s in the Main Event --, Zach Makovsky, Ian McCall, and Eddie Wineland. He has a wrestling and Muay Thai background and has one Knockout of the Night and two Performance of the Night bonuses.

Ortiz has eight KO/TKO, four submissions, and seven decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five and throughout his career has six first-round wins. He, like Benavidez, has big wins coming against the likes of Zach Makovsky, Ray Borg and Justin Scoggins. He has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu and has one Performance of the Night bonus.

This is a rematch from 2015 where Benavidez got a decision win, but don’t forget...it’s 2019, y’all. There is plenty of reason to think this fight mirrors the first one, however, with both fighters trading blows the entire fight. Benavidez needs to get the fight to the ground and work some ground and pound to work his Thai clinch and soften Ortiz up. Ortiz will look to get the fight to the ground and work his Jiu jitsu. He has a chip on his shoulder so look for him to be the aggressor and push the pace. In the end I see this going all three rounds with Ortiz picking up the victory.

 

Gregor Gillespie 12-0 vs Yancy Medeiros 15-5

Gillespie has six KO/TKO, five submissions, and one decision win. He has seven first-round wins. He has a very strong collegiate background as an NCAA Wrestler All American and National Champ. He has on Fight of the Night and two Performance of the Night bonuses.

Medeiros has eight KO/TKO, four submissions, and three decision wins. He is 3-2 in his last five and has six first-round wins during his career. His biggest win to date is over Alex Oliveira. He has a wrestling background and like to bang. He has two Fight of the Night, and three Performance of the Night bonuses.

This, like so many of the fights before it, is a great matchup. Gillespie will look for the big takedown and start to ground and pound Medeiros as he needs to keep that top control and keep the fight on the ground. He needs to watch for the big right hand from Medeiros and be a counter puncher while sticking and moving because he absolutely cannot let this fight go to the ground. He simply needs to punch the action. In the end, I see Gillespie with another dominate win.

 

Co-Main Event

Greg Hardy 3-0 vs Allen Crowder 9-3

The ex-NFL lineman has all three of his victories via the knockout and all have come in the first-round.  fights with American Top Team and despite the fact that he played professional football, he does have a boxing background. He has heavy and fast hands, as expected after seeing three first-round KO’s, but doesn’t have much ground experience. He’s making his UFC Debut tonight.

Crowder has five KO/TKO, three submissions, and one decision win. He is 4-1 in his last five fights and is a knockout specialist, like hardy, with four-round wins on his ledger. He has heavy hands just like Hardy. He has great top pressure once on the ground, which will obviously give Hardy a LOT of problems.

If you want to see haymakers, this is the fight you want to see. Hardy is going to try and keep this fight upright and hopes to end it early. We haven’t seen him go past the first-round in any of his fights so it will be interesting to see his cardio. Crowder needs to take the fight to the ground and use ground and pound. In the end, Crowder’s experience and ground game will be to much for Hardy and Crowder wins this fight.

 

MAIN EVENT FOR FLYWEIGHT TITLE

Henry Cejudo 13-2 vs TJ Dillashaw 16-3

Cejudo has five KO/TKO, and eight decision wins. He is 3-2 in his last five fights and has four first-round wins. He has two MASSIVE wins over Demetrious Johnson and Sergio Pettis. He has a wrestling and Muay Thai background and is the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist for wrestling. He is the current Flyweight Champ and  has one Fight of the Night, and one Performance of the Night bonus.

Dillashaw has eight KO/TKO, three submissions, and five decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five fights and has some great wins on his resume against Cody Garbrandt twice and Renan Barao twice. Dillasahaw is a three-time NCAA National Qualifier. He has a black belt in Muay Thai. He is the current Bantamweight Champ. He has three Fight of the Night, five Performance of the Night, bonuses and is “The Ultimate Fighter” 14 runner up.

This fight has the potential to be fight of the year. Both have high level wrestling and some amazing striking as well. Cejudo needs to take the fight to the ground first and wear Dillashaw down. This is Dillashaw’s first time at 125 so the weight cut may hurt his stamina, which Cejudo needs to capitalize on. He needs to avoid the clinch and foot work of Dillashaw as Dillashaw is the better striker and more technical. Dillashaw needs to go in and out on Cejudo and not let him tie him up and take him down. He needs to set up head and leg kicks then go for a takedown while looking for some ground and pound or possibly a submission. In the end this fight will go at least three rounds and I see TJ Dillashaw becoming a two-division Champ.


 

CASH

  

GPP

 

GILLESPIE

9400

 

SANDHAGEN

9300

DILLASHAW

8900

 

HERNADEZ

8600

CERRONE

7600

 

CEJUDO

7300

ORTIZ

7200

 

MUHAMMAD

7700

BERMUDEZ

8000

 

HARDY

9500

CROWDER

6700

 

CALDERWOOD

7400