Danilo Marques vs Jailton Almeida – 205 pounds – Light Heavyweight

Jailton is the guy I am watching here. He is a former DWCS alum, and has finished all his pro fights. The majority of those by submission. He looks super strong, and athletic. Jailton could be a real problem at 205, I am curious to see how he looks against UFC competition. He has a favourable style matchup in Danilo Marques, who has a similar style, but does not look to have the same physical gifts Jailton does.

Malcolm Gordon vs Denys Bondar – 125 pounds – Flyweight

I gotta give some love to the only flyweight fight on the card. This is a battle of two fighters who will come to the fight with a grapple first approach.

I do think Malcolm Gordon is better than he has showed in the UFC, and he is taking on a UFC newcomer who does not have nearly the same level of experience against top pro fighters – these are often fights where betting on the UFC vet can be very tempting. But – Denys Bondar, despite the experience gap, does look like to have some very serious skills. Anyone can look good crushing cans, but there is potentially something there.

This fight is great matchmaking. I am really curious to see how both these guys perform.

Julian Erosa vs Steven Peterson – 145 pounds – Featherweight

This will be a fun one. A couple of fun action fighters going at it!

But – I think these two are on different levels. And the betting line is saying the same. Juicy J is a legitimate UFC fighter, he has beat and stopped, a bunch of really good fighters in the octagon. Whereas Peterson has been around for a bit now, but has not been nearly as successful, and against worse competition.

But they gotta play the game! We’ll see how it goes. But my guess is the betting lines got it right on this one.

Tresean Gore vs Bryan Battle – 185 pounds – Middleweight

This was supposed to be the TUF final! But Gore got hurt. Interesting that they are running it back and trying to find the true winner of that season!

I am not sold that either of these guys are real threats to the top of the 185 pound division. But let’s let them battle it out and prove they are!

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This is a high stakes middleweight fight. There are only two guys who get to fight for the title, and there is only one challenger! The winner of this fight will be one step closer and could be next for the title and a chance to change their life! The other will be further away from the title than they are now.

Regardless of the personalities or the style matchups – these top of the division matchups are always intriguing because it gets so narrow at the top of the division. It is so hard to get into the top 5, it is harder to stay there – then actually winning the title!? It is a really tough road. And these fights are a major step in that journey.

But this fight itself is fun! This fight could be considered a pretty classic striker vs grappler matchup. But there is more to this fight, from a technical perspective, than that.

Strickland is very much a volume and pressure fighter. Most of his fights are won with volume on the feet, but I would argue his better weapon is his pace and pressure, more than just his striking. Sean is a well-rounded fighter! He has displayed a full game in the octagon, including in his last fight against Uriah Hall.

Hermansson on the other hand, is very much a grappler, he wins most of his fights with his grappling and top pressure. He has a checkered record, but his two most recent losses are against two of the best guys in the division. Anyone with the grappling ability of Hermansson is dangerous. He is the type of fighter that can cancel out a hype train who likes to keep it standing, so Seans “well-rounded” game is going to be tested.

Hermansson is a perfect litmus test, or “gatekeeper” for the top of the middleweight division. We will have a good idea of what we have in Sean Strickland after this fight.

Hermansson doesn’t get enough credit as a fun personality in the sport. But if there was a “A side” in this fight night main event, it would be Sean Strickland. People are intrigued by this guy. He is pretty whacky, which could make for an interesting build up if he can earn that shot against Izzy (Or Bobby Knuckles?). So that is something else to consider in this matchup.

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Fans are excited for this one. Outside of the main event, this fight is getting the most attention. And that is because people are excited about Shavkat Rakhmonov. The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan is 14-0 in MMA and 2-0 in the UFC, and he has finished all his pro fights! 7 TKOs and 7 submissions.

People have been mentioning Shavkat alongside the likes of Khamzat Chimaev as future contenders at 170. I am also excited about Shavkat. And I do think he looks very good. But – I am not sold that he is on the same level as Khamzat. I am fully aboard the Khamzat hype train, but Shavkat is going need to show me a bit more before I fully hop on board.

But Shavkat does look like a beast. He fights long and manages distance really well. He can strike from the outside, but it’s when he grabs a hold of his opponents that his power is truly on display. He doesn’t look like a physical specimen, but he has that strength that comes from clean technique. He has looked fairly dominant in his two UFC victories, against respectable UFC vets. It’s been enough to get people excited about him.

His opponent is Carlston Harris. Another solid UFC prospect, even though Carlston isn’t getting nearly the same hype. Carlston is 34 and has 4 losses on his record, but he has won 5 straight fights – all by finish! And he beat some good guys in that run.

Carlston has some solid power and will be aggressive looking for the finish. He also has 5 subs on his record and is equally dangerous to pull out a submission. The betting line on this fight is interesting. Shavkat Rakhmonov is the one with the hype, and he is the betting favourite at around -225. But Carlston Harris is a live dog here. He is a real threat to finish this fight, on the feet or on the ground. We all love potential blue-chip prospects, but Shavkat Rakhmonov needs to still prove himself before we are assuming he is destined for a title shot.

Sometimes it can be profitable to fade these hype trains…we’ll see

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This is one of those fights where I am kind of bothered, and worried that people won’t fully appreciate. The winner of this fight will have a big feather in their cap, I just hope we all recognize it!

Hakeem was someone I thought of as a dark horse at featherweight. And he very well still could be. Hakeems last fight was a unanimous decision loss to the undefeated Movsar Evloev. That loss that will age like a fine wine. Evloev seems to be destined for a title fight, and soon. And the fight was pretty wild! Evloev used his wrestling to keep the Mauy Thai expert on his back and won the 2^nd round 10-8 on all scorecards. But then Hakeem came back and won the 3^rd round on all scorecards! It was a fun round, and it looked like Hakeem was going to finish him late. But ultimately it goes down as an L on the record for Hakeem.

But I have to imagine, that 3^rd round gave Hakeem a lot of confidence. It looked like something clicked for Hakeem. Maybe Evloev was just getting tired, but Hakeem was the one marching forward, threating the level change! Then his striking started to take over. When Hakeem is landing he is one of the most powerful fighters at that weight. He doesn’t have the highlight reel KOs, yet. But they are coming.

Mike Trizano was the winner of the “undefeated” season of the ultimate fighter. But he has battled injuries and has only competed 3 times since winning The Ultimate Fighter in July of 2018. He is 2-1 in the UFC, all against pretty solid competition. He is long and aggressive; he likes to pick shots and overwhelm with volume. He has the makings of a fan friendly action fighter, and I am curious to see how his skills stack up against a high-level striker in Hakeem.

Should be fun.

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Bantamweight is ridiculous, a guy like Miles Johns feels so far from the top of the division, but he looks like a guy that could compete with anyone in the world. The former LFA champ, and DWCS alum is 3-1 in the UFC and is someone we should be keeping an eye on.

Miles Johns is a really quick and athletic fighter. It would be a mistake to classify him as a “grappler” or a “striker”, he is a new age fighter with a well-rounded game. He has won himself two straight performance bonuses with two 3^rd round KO wins. He started out wrestling, winning a state title and wrestling a year in college. But he has been a dedicated MMA fighter for far longer. I am a fan, I’m looking forward to see how he looks.

His opponent is John Castaneda. Just like Miles, Castaneda dropped out of his first year of college wrestling to pursue a career in MMA. Castaneda has less fights in the UFC but arguably has the experience advantage coming into this fight. His first fight was against another top prospect Nathanial Wood, and his second was against the former WEC champ and staple of the bantamweight division, Eddie Wineland.

Castaneda has a solid skillset. He is good at keeping distance and picking clean strikes. He is a lot more dangerous on the feet than I think people would give him credit for. And he comes with a wrestling background himself.

Miles Johns is really the guy I have my eye on, but Castaneda is not going to be an easy fight. This should be a fun scrap.

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We back!

I know there may be some of you who are writing this card off. And nobody would blame you for doing so, there is not a ton of name value. Even the main event is pretty low profile. But I’d strongly recommend you reconsider. I am actually pretty excited – there is a ton of talent on this card. And some matchups that should make for fun fights.

The card also features one of the most overlooked prospects in the sport! In a really fun fight against another potential prospect.

And while it is not the highest profile main event of the year, Strickland vs Hermansson is an important fight in the middleweight division. Strickland could start to make a case for a title shot against Izzy..wouldnt that be something.

Looking forward to diving in.

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