Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to both UFC Fight Pass and ESPN this weekend (Sat., June 8, 2019) when UFC 238: “Cejudo vs. Moraes” storms United Center in Chicago, Illinois. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC 238 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
With T.J. Dillashaw still reeling from a loss to United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title is up for grabs. This Saturday (June 8, 2019), Flyweight champion Henry Cejudo will look to build off of his stunning upset of Dillashaw against former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) kingpin Marlon Moraes in a bid for the belt in UFC 235’s pay-per-view (PPV) main event.
United Center in Chicago, Ill., will also see Flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko take on Jessica Eye in her first title defense, Donald Cerrone welcome Tony Ferguson back to the Octagon, and Petr Yan look to continue his rise at Jimmie Rivera’s expense.
We’ve got four more “Prelims” undercard bouts to preview and predict (check out Fight Pass portion here), two of which feature a clash of Top 5-ranked fighters on ESPN. Let’s not delay!
115 lbs.: Tatiana Suarez vs. Nina Ansaroff
Tatiana Suarez (7-0) emerged from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23 as an immediate contender, having dominated every foe in the house, choking out Amanda Cooper at the Finale. She’s won three straight since that victory, including an absolute thrashing of former champion Carla Esparza at UFC 228.
Three of her five professional stoppage wins have come in the first round.
Issues with takedown defense and questionable judging left Nina Ansaroff (10-5) winless in her first two UFC appearances, only for a submission of Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger to kick off a four-fight win streak. Her most recent effort saw her survive some early trouble to upset former title challenger Claudia Gadelha in Toronto in Dec. 2018.
She’ll give up two inches of reach to Suarez.
Ansaroff is an excellent fighter. Suarez, however, is such a monster that she’s a -900 favorite at the time of writing. Suarez’s wrestling is just so far beyond anyone else’s in the division that even Ansaroff’s potent striking skills aren’t enough for the bookies or the betting populace to give her much of a chance.
I do want to acknowledge that Ansaroff’s takedown defense has improved greatly since she got tossed around by Juliana Lima in her Octagon debut; shutting down Gadelha’s grappling game is no mean feat. Even with that, though, it’s hard to imagine her staying on her feet for any length of time. Ansaroff’s skilled enough to survive, but not enough to win as Suarez demolishes her on the mat with ground-and-pound and submission attempts.
Prediction: Ansaroff via unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Pedro Munhoz vs. Aljamain Sterling
Pedro Munhoz (18-3) entered UFC with considerable hype behind him as the RFA Bantamweight champion, but dropped decisions to Raphael Assuncao and Jimmie Rivera in his first four Octagon fights alongside a failed drug test that overturned a victory. “The Young Punisher” has since won seven of eight bouts, racking up four post-fight bonuses and knocking out former champ Cody Garbrandt in March.
Six of his nine submission victories have come by guillotine.
Aljamain Sterling (17-3) hit something of a funk after winning his first four UFC bouts, dropping three of his next five and suffering a horrific knockout loss to Marlon Moraes. He enters the cage this weekend on a three-fight winning streak that’s seen him kneebar Cody Stamann and dominate the aforementioned Rivera.
“The Funk Master” will have a 6.5-inch reach advantage alongside his one-inch height edge.
As tempting as it is to just bank on Munhoz’s guillotine against a wrestling specialist, Sterling’s striking has improved to the point where he can win this fight without ever putting his neck in danger. “The Funk Master” used his reach, well, masterfully against a potent boxer in Rivera, and as much power and durability as Munhoz possesses, we saw against John Dodson that he really doesn’t have many tools to close the distance besides sheer pressure.
So long as Sterling maintains his composure, he can keep Munhoz on the end of his kicks and punches all night. Munhoz is quite good at getting people to lose their composure, admittedly, but I see Sterling using his length to the fullest and taking a dominant decision on the feet.
Prediction: Sterling via unanimous decision
115 lbs.: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Alexa Grasso
Poland’s Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-4) — the last person to defeat Rose Namajunas before the latter’s title run — finds herself on a two-fight skid following consecutive victories over Jodie Esquibel and Felice Herrig. Jessica Andrade scored the division’s first one-punch knockout against her in Sept. 2018, and though she lasted the distance against Michelle Waterson, “The Karate Hottie” nonetheless claimed victory.
She’ll give up two inches of height and reach to Alexa Grasso (10-2).
Grasso’s perfect (4-0) Invicta run cemented her as a top prospect, a label she lived up to in her successful UFC debut against Heather-Jo Clark. A surprising upset loss to Felice Herrig followed, after which she narrowly edged Randa Markos and subsequently fell victim to Tatiana Suarez’s implacable rise.
This will be her first fight in more than one year because of injuries.
I’m not going to lie and say Grasso has lived up to expectations, but she’s still an extremely potent boxer, which we should finally get to see now that she’s got someone who won’t try to take her down. Kowalkiewicz will oblige on the feet, and while the Pole has the larger arsenal, I don’t see her shutting down her younger, heavier-handed opponent.
Kowalkiewicz remains gritty and dangerous, but without the threat of takedowns to shut down Grasso’s combination punching, she’s in for a rough night. Grasso makes the most of her speed and reach to box up her foe for the full 15 minutes.
Prediction: Grasso via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Ricardo Lamas vs. Calvin Kattar
The decision that Ricardo Lamas (19-7) made to face an overweight Josh Emmett at UFC on FOX 26 came back to bite him when Emmett laid him out with a vicious left hook late in the first round (watch it). “The Bully” returned six months later against top prospect Mirsad Bektic, giving a good account of himself in defeat, and then became the first man since 2013 to stop Darren Elkins in Nov. 2018.
Lamas stands three inches shorter than Calvin Kattar (19-3) and faces a one-inch reach deficit.
“The Boston Finisher” defied +300 odds to handily defeat Andre Fili in his Octagon debut, then followed that up with an even more impressive knockout of Shane Burgos to earn “Fight of the Night.” Kattar struggled his next time out against Renato Moicano, but successfully spoiled Cage Warriors champ Chris Fishgold’s UFC debut six months later.
He has finished nine opponents in the first round, seven of them via punches.
Lamas is as game as they come, but his issue has always been his inability to consistently take down his opponents. Though he’s generally a sufficiently dangerous striker to make up for it, being gritty and aggressive on the feet won’t serve him well against a crisper boxer with the power to turn his lights out.
If Lamas can get on top, he has the ground-and-pound to end Kattar’s night in horrific fashion. A striking victory wouldn’t be all that outlandish either, as “The Bully” sports dangerous low kicks that Kattar showed his vulnerability against Moicano. I just don’t think Lamas is enough of a takedown threat to throw Kattar off his game or a sharp enough striker to win the boxing exchanges. Kattar sprawls-and-brawls to a comfortable decision victory.
Prediction: Kattar via unanimous decision
Save for the co-main event, UFC 238 is as loaded a card as we’ve seen in a while. Don’t miss it. See you Saturday, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 238 fight card this weekend, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 238: “Cejudo vs. Moraes” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.