Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., Aug. 10, 2019) when UFC Fight Night 156: “Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2” storms Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC Fight Night 156 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) makes its first stop in Montevideo, Uruguay, this weekend (Sat., Aug. 10, 2019) with a title fight in the lead. Flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko defends her crown in UFC Fight Night 156’s main event against the first woman to ever defeat her, Liz Carmouche, while Light Heavyweight knockout artists Volkan Oezdemir and Ilir Latifi duke it out in the co-feature alongside an absolute barnburner between Vicente Luque and Mike Perry.
UFC Fight Night 156 had eight “Prelims” undercard bouts set for ESPN+, but thanks to the injury bug, we’re now down to seven. Let’s have a look at the first four below:
135 lbs.: Geraldo de Freitas vs. Chris Gutierrez
The six-fight, pre-UFC win streak for Geraldo de Freitas (12-4) included four finishes and earned him the Shooto Brasil Bantamweight title in 2017. He temporarily moved up to Featherweight this past February for his UFC debut, which saw him out-class Team Nogueira product Felipe Colares in Fortaleza.
“Spartan” will have a three-inch reach advantage.
Chris Gutierrez (13-3-1) cut his teeth in Bellator, World Series of Fighting (WSOF) and LFA before making his Octagon debut in Nov. 2018 against Raoni Barcelos, who powered through a cut to submit “El Guapo” late in the second stanza. He returned to action in March with a dominant decision over late replacement Ryan MacDonald in Nashville.
He has knocked out six professional foes and submitted one other.
Gutierrez is a beast on the feet, but he’s historically struggled mightily with quality wrestlers, a byproduct of his tendency to throw kicks without setup. De Freitas, who dominated a solid takedown artist in Colares, looks poised to exploit this, especially since Gutierrrez won’t have his usual height advantage.
If “El Guapo” can get his low kicks going early as he did against MacDonald, he’s got a real shot at victory. More likely, though, de Freitas consistently bullies him to the ground whenever Gutierrez tries to get his leg assault flowing. In short, strong top control wins it for the Brazilian.
Prediction: de Freitas via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Alex da Silva vs. Rodrigo Vargas
Alex da Silva (20-2) racked up an 18-fight win streak — all but three of which ended in the first round — before dropping a decision to Jakub Kowalewicz in Mumbai. After bouncing back with two more first-round stoppages, “Leko” stepped up on short notice to face Alexander Yakovlev in April, tapping to a Schultz headlock late in the second.
He has knocked out 13 pro opponents and submitted another seven.
Mexico’s Rodrigo Vargas (11-2) enters the Octagon with victories in seven of his last eight fights, among them a first-round finish of future “Contender Series” competitor Jordan Williams. His most recent fight, which took place in May 2018, saw him flatten UFC veteran Mike De La Torre with an 18-second head kick.
“Kazula” steps in for the injured Rafael Fiziev on less than two weeks’ notice.
Vargas isn’t some random fill-in UFC picked out of a hat — he’s a legitimately solid fighter, a well-rounded southpaw with great clinch takedowns and a knack for getting off of his back. He’s also a massive stylistic departure from da Silva’s original opponent, making him a serious threat.
Not that serious, though.
da Silva’s the faster and heavier-handed of the two, and though his takedown defense has failed him before, Vargas doesn’t have Yakovlev’s physicality or top-level experience. Da Silva ends a wild, back-and-forth battle with a big shot late in the first.
Prediction: da Silva via first-round technical knockout
170 lbs.: Alexey Kunchenko vs. Gilbert Burns
Alexey Kunchenko (20-0) battered his way to M-1 Welterweight gold in 2016 with a fourth-round finish of Murad Abdulaev, then scored four successful defenses on his way to the Octagon. “Wolverine” successfully debuted in Sept. 2018 with a decision over Thiago Alves, then overpowered Yushin Okami in Adelaide three months later.
Twelve of his 14 stoppage wins have come via (technical) knockout.
Gilbert Burns (15-3) opened his UFC career perfect (3-0) with two post-fight bonuses before hitting a 3-3 stretch, capped off by a knockout loss to Dan Hooker. He has since bounced back with victories over Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Mike Davis, after which he announced his intention to return to Welterweight.
“Durinho” replaces Argentina’s Laureano Staropoli, who suffered a broken nose in training, on 11 days’ notice.
Well, I’m glad Burns isn’t cutting 30 pounds to make weight anymore, though I will miss watching him Hulk his way through the Lightweight division. Kunchenko will be a hell of a litmus test for “Durinho’s” prospects at 170 pounds, though — the Russian’s quality takedown defense and dangerous short-range bruising present a serious problem for Burns, who’s improved his boxing but is still more a slugger than a technician.
We’ve seen Burns hurt before and I’m not sure how effective his takedowns will be without his customary massive size advantage. He’s absolutely a live dog and could finish Kunchenko anywhere, but his historical struggles with larger men have me thinking “Wolverine” catches him in the pocket after stuffing some takedowns.
Prediction: Kunchenko by second-round technical knockout
125 lbs.: Polyana Viana vs. Veronica Macedo
Polyana Viana (10-3) entered the Octagon last year with the Jungle Fight Strawweight title under her belt and made an immediate impression with a first-round submission of Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson. She has yet to taste victory since, dropping successive upset decisions to J.J. Aldrich and Hannah Cifers.
She replaces the injured Rachael Ostovich on less than two weeks’ notice.
Venezuela’s Veronica Macedo (5-3-1) rattled off five consecutive professional victories after a pair of amateur knockouts, knocking out and submitting one opponent each. She makes this walk this Saturday 0-3 in the UFC, fighting just three times in the past three years because of injury.
She’ll give up three inches of height and reach to the 5’7” Viana.
Viana really, really should have won her last two UFC fights. She’s got world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but a combination of poor wrestling and equally poor game-planning has left her unable to utilize it. Luckily for her, Macedo’s takedown defense is her biggest weakness; she’s been dragged to the mat at least twice in all three of her UFC bouts, and Viana really only needs to get her down once.
“Dama de Ferra” has two potential pitfalls in front of her: the weight disadvantage and her own tendency to throw away winnable fights. The skill disparity and style match up are far enough in her favor to offset that concern, though. In other words, Viana taps her quick.
Prediction: Viana via first-round submission
Three more UFC Fight Night 156 “Prelims” bouts to preview and predict tomorrow, including the Octagon debut of one of the world’s best Heavyweight prospects. See you then, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 156 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN+“Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, then the main card portion that will stream on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Night 156: “Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.