Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to both UFC Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., July 14, 2018) when UFC Fight Night 133: “dos Santos vs. Ivanov” storms CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC Fight Night 133 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
One of the most dangerous men in the recently upheaved Heavyweight division returns to action this Saturday (July 14, 2018) when Junior dos Santos welcomes Sambo great and former Bellator champion Blagoy Ivanov to the Octagon inside CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. Down at Welterweight, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) golden boy Sage Northcutt faces the iron-tough Zak Ottow, while Featherweight brawlers Dennis Bermudez and Rick Glenn duke it out 30 pounds south.
UFC Fight Night 133 features seven “Prelims” undercard bouts this time with the usual 4:3 split between FOX Sports 1 and Fight Pass. On we go!
125 lbs.: Liz Carmouche vs. Jennifer Maia
Consecutive decisions over Lauren Murphy and Katlyn Chookagian gave way to a 13-month layoff for Liz Carmouche (11-6), leaving her with just one fight between April 2015 and Dec. 2017. Upon her return, “Girl-Rilla” faced old rival Alexis Davis and fought to a contentious split decision loss.
She has stopped five opponents with strikes and submitted another two.
Jennifer Maia (15-4-1) enters UFC on a six-fight win streak and with the Invicta Flyweight belt around her waist. She defeated veteran Vanessa Porto for the belt back in 2016, then defended it against Roxanne Modafferi and Agnieszka Niedzwiedz in headlining appearances.
She has five submissions and two (technical) knockouts of her own.
For those who haven’t seen Maia in action, she’s a straightforward Muay Thai stylist with a quality jab and solid kicks. What she isn’t is terribly adept at defending takedowns, which is more than a bit of a problem against one of the division’s best ground-and-pounders. She found herself on her back more than once against Modafferi, who lacks Carmouche’s overwhelming physical strength, so that bodes ill for her.
Carmouche’s fight IQ has been lacking before and she’s not always the best at finishing takedowns, but she should have the tools to put Maia on her back and start bashing away. Ground control and punches from the top seal the deal.
Prediction: Carmouche via unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Mark De La Rosa vs. Elias Garcia
Mark De La Rosa (9-1) looked to put the infamy of his Legacy FC no-show behind him when he stepped into the cage against Tim Elliott at UFC 219. It wasn’t quite the triumphant redemption for which “The Bumblebee” had hoped, though, as Elliott caught him in a bonus-winning anaconda choke early in the second round.
Four of his five submission wins have come by rear-naked choke.
Training at Roufusport alongside cousin Anthony Pettis, Elias Garcia (5-0) went 5-0 as an amateur before joining the professional ranks in 2013. He returned from a two-year layoff in 2017 to score two submissions, one of them in the first round.
He has scored three wins by submission and one by (technical) knockout.
From what little I’ve seen of Garcia, he’s a dangerous ground artist with powerful-but-developing stand up. The issue here is that he’s unproven against quality opposition and has yet to show solid wrestling, while De La Rosa is both capable on the feet and dangerous on the mat. Garcia would have to be able to dictate position to reliably win this bout and I’m not convinced that’s in his toolbox.
The potential is definitely there for Garcia, but without the ability to put De La Rosa on his back, it’s hard to see him getting his hand raised. De La Rosa escapes a few hairy submission attempts to piece him up on the feet.
Prediction: De La Rosa via unanimous decision
115 lbs.: Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel
If it’s all the same to you guys, I’m just going to copy-paste what I wrote for this fight last time.
Once arguably the top Strawweight on the planet, Jessica Aguilar (19-6) has struggled to find her footing in UFC, fighting just twice in the last three years and losing both times. The former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) champ was last seen losing a decision to Cortney Casey last year, making this her first fight in more than 12 months.
“Jag” has forced eight opponents to tap as a professional.
Jodie Esquibel (6-3) stepped up when the casting call went out for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23, but Ashley Yoder ended her run in the elimination round. After splitting fights with Alexa Grasso and DeAnna Bennett, she made her Octagon debut in Gdansk in Oct. 2017, dropping a decision to local favorite Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
She stands an inch shorter than Aguilar, but will have one inch of reach on her.
I’m honestly not sure what to make of Aguilar. Losing to Claudia Gadelha is perfectly understandable, but the Casey loss was downright baffling. Despite taking down her opponent four times, she elected to just stand there and let Casey kick her legs with impunity rather than try to establish top control.
Not confidence-inspiring stuff, that.
Luckily for her, Esquibel represents a step down in competition. With a history of making 105 pounds and split decisions comprising half of her victories, there’s very little going Jodie’s way against the infinitely more proven “Jag.” Expect Aguilar to score regular takedowns en route to a wide decision victory.
Prediction: Aguilar via unanimous decision
Four more UFC Fight Night 133 “Prelims” undercard bouts remain to preview and predict, including the debut of an RFA champion and a new Nurmagomedov. Same time as always, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 133 fight card this weekend, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” undercard bout at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the FOX Sports 1 “Prelims” undercard bouts at 8 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET, also on FOX Sports 1.