Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Get the scoop on the early fights of UFC 247 from Houston, highlighted by a bantamweight scrap between up-and-comers Miles Johns and Mario Bautista.
Typically, I try to alert my readers to a potential hidden gem on every part of the card they might be interested in viewing. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong. Either way, my primary goal is to make sure I’m not blowing smoke up anyone’s ass. My assessment of the early prelims of UFC 247: you’re only going to be interested in these contests if you’re the hardest of hardcore fans. They only feature prospects early in their UFC careers, none of them whom project as future stars. None of the fights project to be stylistic disasters. In fact, all of them appear to have a strong chance of providing good entertainment value. However, name value appears to be the only thing the UFC is interested in promoting… and this portion of the card offers none.
The early prelims begin on ESPN+ at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT on Saturday
Note: There was anticipation the UFC would find a replacement for injured Jimmie Rivera in time for Marlon Vera to remain on the card. As of Tuesday night, that hadn’t happened, making it seem unlikely to happen at this point. It that remains the case, one of these contests will be moved to the televised prelims to replace that contest.
Miles Johns (10-0) vs. Mario Bautista (7-1), Bantamweight
For the record, this is the fourth featured prelim in 2020, two at UFC 246 (early and televised prelims) and one at UFC Raleigh. All of them featured DWCS alum. The televised prelim – the preview of which will soon be out – also features a DWCS alum. Shall we keep track of this moving forward?
Johns represents the fighter from Dana White’s favored way of discovering talent. Unlike many of his colleagues from the show, Johns didn’t need any further seasoning on the regional scene, having faced several challenging opponents before making it to the big stage. Whether it was nerves or struggles with a longer opponent, Johns didn’t look too hot in his UFC debut against Cole Smith. Nonetheless, he got the job done with a solid jab and great takedown defense. Perhaps most curious about his performance was the lack of effort to get the fight to the mat on his own part as many consider his wrestling to be his greatest strength.
It won’t be a surprise this time around if he avoids the ground game as Bautista is thought to be a slick submission artist. Not that he needed his ground skills to get the better of Jin Soo Son, relying instead on an insanely aggressive standup game that was completely bereft of any attention to defense. Nonetheless, the MMA Lab product shows a strong chin and enough power to win more than his share of slobberknockers.
This is a very close contest. Often times, I’ll look at fighter’s camps to separate them, but the MMA Lab and Fortis MMA – Johns’ camp – are both highly respectable. My first instinct after that was to lean towards Johns as his wrestling is superior. However, if he isn’t going to utilize that aspect of his game, Bautista’s volume should be the ultimate difference maker. Bautista via decision
- Despite coming up short in his UFC debut against Ricardo Ramos, Journey Newson exceeded expectations by absorbing an insane amount of damage and battering his opponent’s legs with kicks to make his short notice appearance a hopeful affair, even if it wasn’t successful. Despite the attention going largely to his performance on the feet, his wheelhouse is his submission game. The same could be said for his opponent, Domingo Pilarte. However, Pilarte will also have 7-inches in height and 6-inches in reach on Newson, making it likely the DWCS alum will try to keep things on the feet. Pilarte has plenty of power, but his energy level is questionable given how much he dehydrates himself to get down to the bantamweight limit on his 6’0” frame. It’s a bit of a risky pick, but I’ll pick Pilarte and his excellent finishing instincts despite Newson’s durability. Pilarte via submission of RD2
- It doesn’t take a prolonged assessment of Andre Ewell to figure out he’s never going to be one of the elite of the bantamweight division. He lacks pop in his punch and is still a porous defender of takedowns, despite significant improvements from when he first entered the organization. However, with a deep gas tank and slick punching combinations exacerbated by his lengthy reach, he’s proven to be loads of fun to watch in all his UFC contests thus far. He’ll get a challenge from Jonathan Martinez, an explosive striker with a penchant for kicks and flying knees. Much like Ewell, Martinez has been terrible defending takedowns, but it’s unlikely he’ll have to worry about it here. It’ll be a shock if this isn’t decided on the feet. Martinez is the better finisher, but I like Ewell’s fundamental boxing to get him over the hump. Ewell via decision
- Typically, there’s some hyperbole with a fighter from the smaller weight divisions having a nickname like Lights Out. Despite being a featherweight, Austin Lingo is living up to that moniker, scoring three consecutive victories in under 25 seconds, two via KO. Even more impressive, he’s shown power in both hands, each hand securing the aforementioned KO’s. The Fortis MMA product isn’t the only one making his UFC debut as 23-year old Youssef Zalal also got the short-notice call, largely off a badass flying knee KO of his own. Zalal possesses a lanky frame ideal for his explosive outside striking. Wrestling has been a troublesome area with his best defense being an offensive guard off his back to create separation. Regardless, I worry about any fighter as reliant on their guard as Zalal is at the highest levels. Lingo finds a way to victory behind his heavy hands, most likely early. Lingo via TKO of RD1