UFC is bringing a pivotal Welterweight headliner to “The River City” for its latest and greatest fight card on ESPN. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC on ESPN 3 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
Two top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight contenders, Leon Edwards (No. 11) — who will put his seven-fight win streak on the line — and former Lightweight ruler, Rafael dos Anjos (No. 4), will hook ‘em up this weekend (Sat., July 20, 2019) inside AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. UFC on ESPN 4 will also see Walt Harris face Aleksei Oleinik in a classic striker vs. grappler match up, Greg Hardy look for his second UFC victory against the towering Juan Adams, and James Vick face Dan Hooker in a clash of Lightweights needing a win.
Seven “Prelims” undercard bouts join the main card on ESPN; therefore, let’s check out the first four below.
125 lbs.: Roxanne Modafferi vs. Jennifer Maia
The second The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) run for Roxanne Modafferi (23-15) proved more productive than the first, as she reached the semifinals with two (technical) knockouts before falling to Sijara Eubanks. “The Happy Warrior” has gone 2-1 in her latest Octagon run, including a notable upset of Antonina Shevchenko in April.
She stands two inches taller than Jennifer Maia (16-5-1) at 5’6.”
Maia defeated Vanessa Porto for the interim Invicta Featherweight belt, then successfully defended the full title against Modafferi and Agnieszka Niedzwiedz before jumping ship to the Octagon. Though she dropped a decision to Liz Carmouche in her debut, she enters the Octagon this Saturday on the heels of a decision over Alexis Davis.
She steps in for the injured Carmouche on a month’s notice.
Yes, Maia beat Modafferi the first time they fought. She did so, however, by pulling away in the championship rounds, which she won’t have the luxury of doing here. Modafferi has the edge in a three-round bout, especially considering Maia’s history of slow starts.
The Brazilian remains the better striker, and certainly still has the skills to sprawl-and-brawl her way to victory. Modafferi’s newfound wrestling prowess and Maia’s issues with takedown defense have me leaning towards “The Happy Warrior,” though. Expect Modafferi to bank the first two rounds and survive a late resurgence.
Prediction: Modafferi via unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Ray Borg vs. Gabriel Silva
It’s been one misfortune after another for Ray Borg (11-4) since his unsuccessful bid for Flyweight gold in 2017. After Conor McGregor shenanigans (details here) scratched a UFC 223 bout with Brandon Moreno, his newborn son’s medical issues scrapped the rebooked match up, and two different opponents fell through for his March return, “The Tazmexican Devil” lost a controversial decision to Casey Kenney that 15 of 18 recorded mixed martial arts (MMA) pundits scored for Borg.
Four of his six submission wins have come by rear-naked choke.
Gabriel Silva (8-0) — brother of UFC and Bellator veteran Erick Silva — has been effective if not terribly busy during his professional career, fighting just seven times in nearly eight years. His March stateside debut saw him end a two-year hiatus with an 83-second knockout of Jake Heffernan under the LFA banner.
He stands two inches taller than Borg at 5’6.”
“Gabito” lacks his brother’s striking variety, instead preferring to wing huge hooks, but boasts a more robust wrestling game to compensate. More important, he has more than five minutes of gas, which alone suggests that he has the higher ceiling of the two.
He’s still in for a rough start. Silva’s free-swinging offense leaves him vulnerable to Borg’s own wrestling, and the fact that Silva increasingly falls back on his takedowns when tiring suggests that things will just get worse for him as the fight progresses. The concern here is size, as Silva’s held his own at Featherweight before, but Borg’s got enough of a technical edge to offset what strength difference there may be. Borg wears him down with constant scrambles before finding the rear-naked choke late.
Prediction: Borg via third-round submission
135 lbs.: Mario Bautista vs. Jin Soo Son
Victories in LFA and Combate brought Mario Bautista (6-1) to the Octagon, where he debuted on short notice against top prospect Cory Sandhagen in January. Bautista survived a flying knee to hit an early takedown, but tapped to an armbar late in the first round.
Three of his five stoppage wins have come by form of choke.
Korea’s Jin Soo Son (9-3) cut his teeth in the venerable DEEP promotion, where he knocked out Toshiaki Kitada in April 2018 to claim the Bantamweight title. He stepped up on short notice in Sept. 2018 against knockout artist Petr Yan, missing weight and losing a decision; however, he demonstrated his status as a “Korean Zombie” protege by claiming “Fight of the Night” in an insane brawl.
He’ll give up two inches of height to the 5’9” Bautista.
What makes this fight interesting is that we haven’t really seem all that these two have to offer. Bautista’s fight with Sandhagen was too short for proper analysis and Son didn’t get a chance to show anything other than his durability against a monster in Yan. It’s a pick-‘em because of insufficient data.
My heart says Son — he’s nightmarishly difficult to put away, and unless Bautista can maintain a calorically expensive grinding style for 15 minutes, Son’s persistence and power should carry him to victory.
Prediction: Son via second-round technical knockout
135 lbs.: Domingo Pilarte vs. Felipe Colares
The 6’0” Domingo Pilarte (8-1) made a case for a “Contender Series” opportunity by winning four straight, including a 38-second uppercut knockout under the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) banner. Despite a near-disaster at the end of the first round, “Son of Fire” came back to submit Vince Morales in front of Dana White and earn himself a contract.
This will be his first fight in just more than one year thanks to injury scrapping a Nov. 2018 debut opposite Brian Kelleher.
Team Nogueira’s Felipe Colares (8-1) claimed the Jungle Fight Featherweight title in 2017, setting up a Feb. 2019 UFC debut opposite Geraldo de Freitas. Colares ultimately fell short, struggling with his opponent’s wrestling en route to a decision loss.
“Cabocao” has submitted five opponents and knocked out another two.
Pilarte’s certainly a unique Bantamweight — he’s the tallest 135-pound fighter on the roster since George Roop called it quits, but prefers trading heavy leather to sitting behind a jab. Though it’s not a style that makes the most of his frame or one that’ll carry him to the top of the division, it makes him must-watch television.
It’ll most likely be his wrestling that carries him to victory here. Colares gave up six takedowns to de Freitas, so even if Pilarte’s long-range striking offense doesn’t work, Pilarte has an out. So long as his cardio holds up, he should be able to drag Colares to the mat as needed and wrap up a fight-ending submission soon after.
Prediction: Pilarte via second-round submission
Three more UFC on ESPN 4 “Prelims” undercard bouts to preview and tomorrow, headlined by the latest from “Bruce Leroy” himself, Alex Caceres. Same time as always, Maniacs.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 4 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN “Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the main card portion that will also air on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC on ESPN 4: “dos Anjos vs. Edwards” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.