UFC 204 predictions: ‘Bisping vs Hendo 2’ Fight Pass ‘Prelims’ undercard preview, Pt. 1

More fights are coming to Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., Oct. 8, 2016) when UFC 204: “Bisping vs. Hendo 2” storms Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC 204 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series.

104 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view (PPV) events later … the rematch.

Newly-crowned Middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, looks to put his most humiliating loss behind him this Saturday evening (Oct. 8, 2016) when he once again takes on the legendary Dan Henderson in his first title defense. In addition, Vitor Belfort will square off with Gegard Mousasi in the co-main event, while a hard-hitting Light Heavyweight clash between Ovince Saint Preux and local favorite Jimi Manuwa sets the stage a bit earlier in the night.

UFC 204 features a seven-fight “Prelims” line up this time, split between FOX Sports 1 and Fight Pass. Let’s sink our meat hooks into the latter:

170 lbs.: Danny Roberts vs. Mike Perry

Danny Roberts (13-1) extended his win streak to six in his Octagon debut by submitting late replacement Nathan Coy, giving him his fifth finish in that streak. He then went to war with Dominique Steele, edging out “Non-Stop Action Packed” in UFC 197’s Fight of the Night.

“Hot Chocolate” is two inches taller than Mike Perry (8-0) at 6’0.”

“Platinum” bashed his way into UFC with seven knockouts in seven fights, including one over former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) semifinalist Jon Manley. He continued his violent ways with an upset knockout of Hyun Gyu Lim at UFC 202.

All but two of his wins have come inside the first round.

Perry’s power and madcap offense worked wonders against the ever-hittable Lim. I don’t expect it to work quite as well against Roberts, who’s a better technician than the big Korean and actually has some decent grappling to back it up. It’s not great grappling, of course, but Perry hasn’t shown much of a ground game himself.

Roberts ought to be able to withstand “Platinum’s” heavy fire and drag him into unfamiliar territory for the finish.

Prediction: Roberts via second-round submission

155 lbs.: Leonardo Santos vs. Adriano Martins

When Santiago Ponzinibbio bowed out of TUF: “Brazil 2,” Leonardo Santos (15-3-1) made the most of his second chance and submitted William Macario at the Finale. He has gone undefeated (4-0-1) in the promotion as part of a seven-year, 10-fight unbeaten streak.

Nine of his 15 wins have come by submission.

Adriano Martins (28-7) dominated Daron Cruickshank in his Octagon debut, only to face Donald Cerrone his next time out and catch a shin upside the head. He has since rattled off three straight wins, two of them by knockout and the most recent coming over top prospect Islam Makhachev.

He has scored 13 knockouts overall.

This is about as rough a fight as Santos can get without choosing from the divisions’ Top 10. Martins is a massive, powerful Lightweight with the wrestling to keep it standing and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu pedigree to survive if Santos manages to drag him down.

If Rustam Khabilov couldn’t outwrestle Martins, Santos is going to have a rough go of it.

The majority of the fight should take place on the feet, where Martins’ power and boxing technique hold a sizable edge. He batters Santos for an eventual stoppage.

Prediction: Martins via second-round technical knockout

155 lbs.: Lukasz Sajewski vs. Marc Diakiese

Poland’s Lukasz Sajewski (12-2) entered UFC undefeated and with a win over standout countryman Marcin Held under his belt. He has yet to find that kind of success in the world’s largest fight promotion, losing to Nick Hein and Gilbert Burns in successive bouts.

“Wookie” replaces the injured Reza Madadi on just one week notice.

Marc Diakiese (9-0) rose to prominence in the BAMMA promotion, taking home the win in all five of his appearances under the banner. His last two bouts have lasted a total of sixty seconds thanks to booming right hands that .

He is two inches taller than Sajewski at 5’10.”

Diakiese should thank his lucky stars that Madadi pulled out — “Mad Dog” may be a non-factor on the feet, but he’s inordinately tough and packs the sort of suffocating grappling that works ever-so-well against physical specimens like “Bonecrusher.”

He’ll have a bit more luck against Sajewski. “Wookie” hasn’t demonstrated Madadi’s takedown prowess and, on the feet, he can’t keep up with Diakese’s speed and power. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Brit’s iffy wrestling came back to bite him, but I can’t pick against his physical edge. He lands something nasty in the early going.

Prediction: Diakese via first-round technical knockout

Four more UFC 204 “Prelims” undercard matches to preview and predict tomorrow, including the return of Albert Tumenov and a trio of solid Bantamweight showdowns. See you then, Maniacs.

Remember, too, that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 204 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.

More fights are coming to Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., Oct. 8, 2016) when UFC 204: “Bisping vs. Hendo 2” storms Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC 204 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series.

104 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view (PPV) events later … the rematch.

Newly-crowned Middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, looks to put his most humiliating loss behind him this Saturday evening (Oct. 8, 2016) when he once again takes on the legendary Dan Henderson in his first title defense. In addition, Vitor Belfort will square off with Gegard Mousasi in the co-main event, while a hard-hitting Light Heavyweight clash between Ovince Saint Preux and local favorite Jimi Manuwa sets the stage a bit earlier in the night.

UFC 204 features a seven-fight “Prelims” line up this time, split between FOX Sports 1 and Fight Pass. Let’s sink our meat hooks into the latter:

170 lbs.: Danny Roberts vs. Mike Perry

Danny Roberts (13-1) extended his win streak to six in his Octagon debut by submitting late replacement Nathan Coy, giving him his fifth finish in that streak. He then went to war with Dominique Steele, edging out “Non-Stop Action Packed” in UFC 197’s Fight of the Night.

“Hot Chocolate” is two inches taller than Mike Perry (8-0) at 6’0.”

“Platinum” bashed his way into UFC with seven knockouts in seven fights, including one over former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) semifinalist Jon Manley. He continued his violent ways with an upset knockout of Hyun Gyu Lim at UFC 202.

All but two of his wins have come inside the first round.

Perry’s power and madcap offense worked wonders against the ever-hittable Lim. I don’t expect it to work quite as well against Roberts, who’s a better technician than the big Korean and actually has some decent grappling to back it up. It’s not great grappling, of course, but Perry hasn’t shown much of a ground game himself.

Roberts ought to be able to withstand “Platinum’s” heavy fire and drag him into unfamiliar territory for the finish.

Prediction: Roberts via second-round submission

155 lbs.: Leonardo Santos vs. Adriano Martins

When Santiago Ponzinibbio bowed out of TUF: “Brazil 2,” Leonardo Santos (15-3-1) made the most of his second chance and submitted William Macario at the Finale. He has gone undefeated (4-0-1) in the promotion as part of a seven-year, 10-fight unbeaten streak.

Nine of his 15 wins have come by submission.

Adriano Martins (28-7) dominated Daron Cruickshank in his Octagon debut, only to face Donald Cerrone his next time out and catch a shin upside the head. He has since rattled off three straight wins, two of them by knockout and the most recent coming over top prospect Islam Makhachev.

He has scored 13 knockouts overall.

This is about as rough a fight as Santos can get without choosing from the divisions’ Top 10. Martins is a massive, powerful Lightweight with the wrestling to keep it standing and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu pedigree to survive if Santos manages to drag him down.

If Rustam Khabilov couldn’t outwrestle Martins, Santos is going to have a rough go of it.

The majority of the fight should take place on the feet, where Martins’ power and boxing technique hold a sizable edge. He batters Santos for an eventual stoppage.

Prediction: Martins via second-round technical knockout

155 lbs.: Lukasz Sajewski vs. Marc Diakiese

Poland’s Lukasz Sajewski (12-2) entered UFC undefeated and with a win over standout countryman Marcin Held under his belt. He has yet to find that kind of success in the world’s largest fight promotion, losing to Nick Hein and Gilbert Burns in successive bouts.

“Wookie” replaces the injured Reza Madadi on just one week notice.

Marc Diakiese (9-0) rose to prominence in the BAMMA promotion, taking home the win in all five of his appearances under the banner. His last two bouts have lasted a total of sixty seconds thanks to booming right hands that .

He is two inches taller than Sajewski at 5’10.”

Diakiese should thank his lucky stars that Madadi pulled out — “Mad Dog” may be a non-factor on the feet, but he’s inordinately tough and packs the sort of suffocating grappling that works ever-so-well against physical specimens like “Bonecrusher.”

He’ll have a bit more luck against Sajewski. “Wookie” hasn’t demonstrated Madadi’s takedown prowess and, on the feet, he can’t keep up with Diakese’s speed and power. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Brit’s iffy wrestling came back to bite him, but I can’t pick against his physical edge. He lands something nasty in the early going.

Prediction: Diakese via first-round technical knockout

Four more UFC 204 “Prelims” undercard matches to preview and predict tomorrow, including the return of Albert Tumenov and a trio of solid Bantamweight showdowns. See you then, Maniacs.

Remember, too, that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 204 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.