A closer look at the four fights set to go down on the UFC Fight Night 88 FS1 main card, leading up to our co-main and main events of the evening. The feature bout pits welterweight veteran Rick Story against former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine.
UFC Fight Night 88 is set to go down this Sunday evening, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is headlined by a showdown between two undefeated bantamweights in No. 7-Ranked Thomas Almeida and surging 135-pound prospect Cody Garbrandt.
The card is also co-main evented by the UFC featherweight debut of former bantamweight champion Renan Barao, as he takes on No. 9 ranked 145-pounder, Jeremy Stephens. Before we get to our two premier events of the evening, however, four fights in three different divisions are set to kick off Fight Night in ‘Sin City.’ With that being said, let’s take a look at the four bouts set to open up the main card on UFC Fight Night 88:
Fight 1: Josh Burkman vs Paul Felder
First up on the main card is a lightweight bout between two 155-pounders who are looking to get back on track, when Josh Burkman takes on Paul Felder.
Burkman (28-12-1) has only one victory to show for his last three Octagon appearances, most recently taking home a unanimous decision victory over K.J. Noons at UFC Fight Night 82 this past February. Burkman made his lightweight debut against Noons after an unsuccessful tenure at welterweight, that saw him being finished by the likes of Dong Hyun Kim and Patrick Cote.
Felder (11-2) is coming off of a third round submission victory over Daron Cruickshank via rear-naked choke, at UFC Fight Night 81 in January. Before his win over Cruickshank, Felder was on a two-fight losing skid when he suffered his first career losses to Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson, as he saw the losing end of a pair of decisions. His big win came via spinning backfist KO against Danny Castillo in January 2015.
While Burkman will hold the wrestling advantage, due largely in part to his college football background, Felder’s standup game may prove to be too much for Burkman to handle. Felder is no stranger to finishing fights, while Burkman has yet to finish in nearly two years since his days in WSOF.
Felder is a -325 favorite over Burkman, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see ‘The Irish Dragon’ leave Vegas with another stoppage win to add to his extensive resume.
Fight 2: Jorge Masvidal vs Lorenz Larkin
The second bout of the evening takes place in the welterweight division, when Jorge Masvidal gets set to scrap against fellow 170-pounder Lorenz Larkin.
Masvidal (29-10) is coming off a split decision loss to Benson Henderson, who has since departed to Bellator MMA, in a very competitive bout back at UFC Fight Night 79 last November. Masvidal has won two of his last four bouts, with both losses coming via split decision. He left the lightweight division following a controversial defeat to Al Iaquinta, then made a spectacular welterweight appearance by KOing Cezar Ferreira last July.
Larkin (16-5-1) comes off a split decision loss of his own against Albert Tumenov back in January at UFC 195. Before suffering the loss to Tumenov, Larkin was on a two fight win streak, defeating Santiago Ponzinibbio and John Howard via TKO. The former Strikeforce fighter once competed at light heavyweight, defeated Robbie Lawler at middleweight, but has recently moved to welterweight in the last year.
This matchup should prove to be an interesting one as the two men are fairly evenly matched, however, Larkin is as much as a -149 favorite to take home the win Sunday night. While Larkin may be the favorite, don’t be surprised to see Masvidal leave with the win as both men share extensive kickboxing careers.
Fight 3: Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda
Next up is a bout between two surging 185-pounders, when middleweight Chris Camozzi steps inside the Octagon against Vitor ‘Lex Luthor’ Miranda.
Camozzi (23-10) is riding a two fight win-streak, that last saw him finish Joe Riggs in only twenty-six seconds of the first round via TKO in late February. Camozzi, however, is going to have his hands full against a true finisher in Miranda, although Chris has never suffered a knockout loss.
Miranda (12-4) is on an impressive three fight win-streak, in which he has finished each of those bouts via TKO. ‘Lex Luthor’ is coming hot off a second round TKO win over Marcelo Guimaraes in the second round at UFC 196 in March.
Camozzi has some great standup, as well as some world-class Muay Thai. However, Miranda is a vicious knockout artist that finishes fights and is rightfully a -230 favorite to win this Sunday.
Fight 4: Tarec Saffiedine vs Rick Story
Our final bout before we jump into our co-main event of the evening, takes place between two top-ranked 170-pounders, when Tarec ‘Sponge’ Saffiedine takes on Rick ‘The Horror’ Story.
Saffiedine (16-4) comes off a unanimous decision win over Jake Ellenberger on UFC on FOX 18 this past January. ‘Sponge’ was previously on an impressive five fight win-streak before running into Rory MacDonald, back on UFC Fight Night 54 in October of 2014. Prior to his bout with Ellenberger, Saffiedine was held away from the sport due to an unfortunate groin injury training for a bout against Matt Brown. He nearly pulled out of this weekend’s bout with a cut on his knee suffered in training, but doctors cleared him to compete.
Story (18-8) has been away from the sport for nearly two years due to injury, and was last seen inside the Octagon when he took home a split decision win over Gunnar Nelson on UFC Fight Night 53 back in October 2014. Story is looking to muster up a three fight win streak with a win over the No. 10 ranked Saffiedine, climbing the welterweight rankings in the process.
This welterweight bout is yet another even matchup that could go either way, as oddsmakers have scattered opinions on who will emerge victorious Sunday night. While Story, the former Oregon product, holds the advantage in the wrestling department, I have to give the edge to Saffiedine given his extensive MMA background.
Saffiedine owns a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Shihaishinkai Karate, a red belt in Tae Kwon Do, and a green belt in Judo. Given Saffiedine’s lengthy MMA resume, I expect the Belgian to get the better of Story and walk out of ‘Sin City’ with one more victory in the win column for the rising welterweight.
UFC Fight Night 88 takes place on Sunday, May 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center on FS1 (FOX Sports 1).
FOX Sports 1 Main Card (9 p.m. ET)
FOX Sports 1 Prelims (7 p.m. ET)
UFC Fight Pass Prelims (6 p.m. ET)