Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to UFC Fight Pass this weekend (Sat., June 23, 2018) when UFC Fight Night 132: “Cerrone vs. Edwards” storms Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Fight Night 132 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
Night owls and those who kinda just don’t sleep, rejoice!
Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, plays host to the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) international venture this Saturday morning June 23, 2018), hosting a Welterweight crossroads bout between Donald Cerrone and Leon Edwards alongside 11 other bouts. UFC Fight Night 132’s main card also features Ovince Saint Preux vs. Tyson Pedro, Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Jessica Eye, and a guaranteed barnburner between Li Jingliang and Daichi Abe.
We’ve got four more UFC Fight Night 132 “Prelims” undercard bouts to preview and predict (check out the first batch here), so here’s what the late arrivals get to enjoy:
135 lbs.: Teruto Ishihara vs. Petr Yan
After ending his Road to UFC: “Japan” run with a draw against Mizuto Hirota, Teruto Ishihara (10-5-2) turned heads with his boisterous personality and brutal knockouts of Julian Erosa and Horacio Gutierrez. “Yashabo’s” fortunes took a rapid turn, however, entering the cage with just one win in his last four fights.
Eight of his professional wins have come by form of knockout.
Petr Yan (8-1) — fighting out of Tiger Muay Thai alongside the likes of Mairbek Taisumov and Ben Nguyen — won an ACB tournament before losing a controversial decision to Magomed Magomedov in a vacant title shot. Undaunted, “No Mercy” went on to beat Magomedov in the rematch and knockout previously unbeaten Matheus Mattos in his first title defense.
He has knocked out three opponents and submitted one other.
I’ve said this about a few different people and generally come out looking stupid for it, but tempting fate is fun. Yan is “Next Big Thing” material — he’s fast, powerful, aggressive and has deep wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu games to complement his core boxing game.
He can also take a punch, which is bad for Ishihara.
Yan has him beat in striking technique, wrestling skills and submission prowess. “Yashabo’s” only real chance is a one-hitter quitter from that sledgehammer left hand, and considering I’ve seen Yan absorb a flush spinning back fist without flinching, that seems unlikely. Yan dominates wherever the fight goes.
Prediction: Yan via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Felipe Arantes vs. Song Yadong
Consecutive upset submissions of Yves Jabouin and Jerrod Sanders made it look like Felipe Arantes (18-9-1) had found a home at Bantamweight, only for him to miss weight against Erik Perez and subsequently lose a split decision. “Sertanejo” returned to 145 pounds in Oct. 2017 with a decision loss to Josh Emmett, who knocked down the durable Brazilian multiple times on his way to victory.
Though he and Song Yadong (12-4) are the same height, Arantes will have a six-inch reach advantage.
Song made his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut at just 15 years old, cutting his teeth in China, Japan and Russia before making his Octagon debut in Nov. 2017. Facing Indian wrestler Bharat Khandare, Song showed some dangerous striking before locking up a bonus-winning guillotine choke late in the first round.
Four of his seven stoppage wins have come by form of knockout.
Song is aggressive and powerful, but extremely raw, the sort of fresh-faced youngster who Arantes can dramatically upend. “Sertanejo” is extremely durable and dangerously tricky, well-equipped to exploit the myriad openings Song leaves in his aggressive pursuit of the finish. He can control the stand up with his Muay Thai and lock up an armbar in a heartbeat should Song hit the deck or try to take him there.
Song has real potential, but he’s up against a taller, longer, more experienced veteran who can survive the early onslaught and end things as soon as he lets up. Arantes wraps up a submission late in the first.
Prediction: Arantes via first-round submission
145 lbs.: Rolando Dy vs. Shane Young
Rolando Dy (9-6) ran into some bad luck in his first two UFC appearances, as an eye injury cut short his fight with Alex Caceres and a point deduction against the aforementioned Ishihara turned what would have been a majority draw into a unanimous decision loss. He finally entered UFC’s win column in Nov. 2017 with a decision over Wuliji Buren in Shanghai.
“The Incredible” will give up three inches of reach to Shane Young (11-4).
“Sugar” Shane brought a five-fight win streak into his UFC debut, a short-notice bout with top prospect Alexander Volkanovski. Though he lasted the distance, he struggled with his foe’s wrestling en route to a decision loss.
Five of his professional wins have come by form of knockout.
This should be fun! Young’s a striker by trade and should be willing to engage Dy on the feet. Unfortunately, that’s a mixed blessing for “The Incredible,” who has a terrible habit of getting dropped. Even if things do wind up going the Filipino’s way on the feet, even Ishihara was able to take him down, meaning Young should have little trouble mixing things up and disrupting Dy’s rhythm.
Young’s the more durable of the two and can grapple if necessary. He controls the striking and mixes in a takedown or two to win the decision, possibly dropping Dy once or twice along the way.
Prediction: Young via unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Hector Aldana vs. Song Kenan
Hector Aldana (4-0) picked up three stoppages in four wins to earn a spot on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): “Latin America” 2, where he represented Team Kelvin Gastelum. He defeated Alvaro Herrera in the elimination round, but suffered a submission loss to Enrique Marin in the semifinal round.
He stands three inches shorter than Song Kenan (13-4) at 5’9.”
“The Assassin” actually entered UFC on a two-fight losing streak, falling to Elnur Agaev and kickboxing standout Brad Riddell. He got back on track in his UFC debut with an upset knockout of Bobby Nash that took him just 15 seconds.
Nine of his 11 finishes have come in the first round.
Aldana has not had a professional fight since 2013 and two of his four wins came over guys making their debuts. Song may be a flawed fighter, but at least he’s got a solid punch and a boatload of experience.
On the more substantive side of things, Aldana doesn’t appear to have any takedown defense whatsoever and doesn’t look superior on the feet. Song takes him down early and locks up a quick submission.
Prediction: Song via first-round submission
Whether live or at an actually reasonable hour, there’s plenty here worth checking out. See you Saturday, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 132 fight card this weekend, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” undercard bouts at 4:30 a.m. ET, before the main card start time at 8 a.m. ET, also on Fight Pass.