Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to both UFC Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., July 8, 2017) when UFC 213: “Nunes vs. Shevchenko” storms T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC 213 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
You don’t want to miss this!
UFC 213 hits the pay-per-view (PPV) airwaves this Saturday evening (July 8, 2017) with two title fights and a bevy of quality match ups in tow. In the main event, women’s Bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes looks for her second title defense against former foe Valentina Shevchenko, while the co-main event sees Cuban powerhouse Yoel Romero lock horns with Aussie knockout artist Robert Whittaker for the interim Middleweight title.
And that’s not even mentioning Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller.
Three of the seven scheduled “Prelims” undercard matches will take place on UFC Fight Pass from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here’s what the World Wide Web has to offer:
135 lbs.: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Rob Font
Douglas Silva de Andrade (24-1) joined UFC on the heels of a seven-fight knockout streak, but came up short against Chechen striker Zubaira Tukhugov in his promotional debut. He’s fought just twice since that Feb. 2014 bout, edging past Cody Gibson before battering Enrique Briones with a “Performance of the Night”-winning spinning back fist.
He has knocked out 19 opponents in his 10-year professional career.
Rob Font (13-2) immediately turned heads with a savage one-punch knockout of George Roop, then a beatdown of Joey Gomez after missing all of 2015 with injuries. Brawler supreme John Lineker proved too stiff a test, but Font got back on track with a thrashing of Matt Schnell in Dec. 2016.
He will have three inches of reach and an inch of height on Andrade.
I’m glad UFC decided to make this the featured Fight Pass “Prelims” bout because there’s a very good chance this winds up being awesome. Font is an aggressive, skilled finisher and Silva has timing and speed alongside his Earth-shaking power.
Sheer power has me leaning Silva’s way. Though he can be a bit inactive both in the cage and in terms of his career, he’s a devastating counter-puncher with great takedown defense and durability. Font’s almost certainly going to land more strikes, but Silva’s punches are among the heaviest in the entire weight class — just look at what he did to Briones, who stood up to Cody Garbrandt for three rounds. Expect some quality back-and-forth action before Andrade drops the hammer midway through the second.
Prediction: Silva de Andrade via second-round knockout
145 lbs.: Cody Stamann vs. Terrion Ware
Andrew Richardson stepping in here to steal Pat’s job for two fights and make some predictions!
Cody Stamann (14-1) is a Michigan Top Team-trained fighter and has spent most of his career competing in The Great Lakes State. He’s built up an impressive record, winning his last seven fights and stopping six opponents via strikes.
Like his opponent, this will be his Octagon debut.
Though he’s fought much of his career at Bantamweight, Terrion Ware (17-4) has found great success on the regional scene as well, recently knocking out former UFC Flyweight Jared Papazian.
On the whole, this is a really solid match up in a really solid division. Featherweight is filled with tough fighters, which is the reason these two have been forced to put together a combined 31-5 record before finally getting an introduction to the UFC.
In terms of the match up itself, it’s definitely a close one, as both men are well-rounded but often prefer to strike. That said, the deciding factor for me in this pick is size, as Stamann is more proven at 145 lbs. and has a wrestling background.
Between a pair of solid prospects, go with the bigger wrestler.
Prediction: Cody Stamann via unanimous decision
205 lbs.: James Bochnovic vs. Trevin Giles
Standing at 6’4,” James Bochnovic (8-1) hasn’t lost a fight since his professional debut back in 2012. In that time, he’s scored some pretty decent wins, including a victory in his sole Bellator appearance.
Bochnovic has tapped out his last seven opponents in the first round.
Like the above match up, this one features an athlete moving up in weight in order to earn his shot in the UFC. Trevin Giles (9-0) usually competes as a Middleweight, where he finished all but one of his wins in a mix of knockouts and submissions. Giles trains and competed in Texan, fighting primarily for the RFA and Legacy, as well as the promotion that formed when the two merged.
Overall, he’s beaten a higher level of competition than Bochnovic.
While it’s still hard to pick a relatively unproven fighter to upset a larger grappler in his UFC debut, athleticism is a major bonus. Giles is the faster man and heavier puncher, and that speed edge will only be more obvious against the heavier opponent. There’s always a chance Bochnovic gets on top early and works his submission game, but odds are that Giles avoids the takedown and out-works his opponent.
Prediction: Trevin Giles via unanimous decision
Four more UFC 213 “Prelims” undercard matches to preview and predict tomorrow, including two Heavyweight fights and an intriguing Welterweight showdown. See you then!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to both UFC Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., July 8, 2017) when UFC 213: “Nunes vs. Shevchenko” storms T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC 213 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.
You don’t want to miss this!
UFC 213 hits the pay-per-view (PPV) airwaves this Saturday evening (July 8, 2017) with two title fights and a bevy of quality match ups in tow. In the main event, women’s Bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes looks for her second title defense against former foe Valentina Shevchenko, while the co-main event sees Cuban powerhouse Yoel Romero lock horns with Aussie knockout artist Robert Whittaker for the interim Middleweight title.
And that’s not even mentioning Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller.
Three of the seven scheduled “Prelims” undercard matches will take place on UFC Fight Pass from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here’s what the World Wide Web has to offer:
135 lbs.: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Rob Font
Douglas Silva de Andrade (24-1) joined UFC on the heels of a seven-fight knockout streak, but came up short against Chechen striker Zubaira Tukhugov in his promotional debut. He’s fought just twice since that Feb. 2014 bout, edging past Cody Gibson before battering Enrique Briones with a “Performance of the Night”-winning spinning back fist.
He has knocked out 19 opponents in his 10-year professional career.
Rob Font (13-2) immediately turned heads with a savage one-punch knockout of George Roop, then a beatdown of Joey Gomez after missing all of 2015 with injuries. Brawler supreme John Lineker proved too stiff a test, but Font got back on track with a thrashing of Matt Schnell in Dec. 2016.
He will have three inches of reach and an inch of height on Andrade.
I’m glad UFC decided to make this the featured Fight Pass “Prelims” bout because there’s a very good chance this winds up being awesome. Font is an aggressive, skilled finisher and Silva has timing and speed alongside his Earth-shaking power.
Sheer power has me leaning Silva’s way. Though he can be a bit inactive both in the cage and in terms of his career, he’s a devastating counter-puncher with great takedown defense and durability. Font’s almost certainly going to land more strikes, but Silva’s punches are among the heaviest in the entire weight class — just look at what he did to Briones, who stood up to Cody Garbrandt for three rounds. Expect some quality back-and-forth action before Andrade drops the hammer midway through the second.
Prediction: Silva de Andrade via second-round knockout
145 lbs.: Cody Stamann vs. Terrion Ware
Andrew Richardson stepping in here to steal Pat’s job for two fights and make some predictions!
Cody Stamann (14-1) is a Michigan Top Team-trained fighter and has spent most of his career competing in The Great Lakes State. He’s built up an impressive record, winning his last seven fights and stopping six opponents via strikes.
Like his opponent, this will be his Octagon debut.
Though he’s fought much of his career at Bantamweight, Terrion Ware (17-4) has found great success on the regional scene as well, recently knocking out former UFC Flyweight Jared Papazian.
On the whole, this is a really solid match up in a really solid division. Featherweight is filled with tough fighters, which is the reason these two have been forced to put together a combined 31-5 record before finally getting an introduction to the UFC.
In terms of the match up itself, it’s definitely a close one, as both men are well-rounded but often prefer to strike. That said, the deciding factor for me in this pick is size, as Stamann is more proven at 145 lbs. and has a wrestling background.
Between a pair of solid prospects, go with the bigger wrestler.
Prediction: Cody Stamann via unanimous decision
205 lbs.: James Bochnovic vs. Trevin Giles
Standing at 6’4,” James Bochnovic (8-1) hasn’t lost a fight since his professional debut back in 2012. In that time, he’s scored some pretty decent wins, including a victory in his sole Bellator appearance.
Bochnovic has tapped out his last seven opponents in the first round.
Like the above match up, this one features an athlete moving up in weight in order to earn his shot in the UFC. Trevin Giles (9-0) usually competes as a Middleweight, where he finished all but one of his wins in a mix of knockouts and submissions. Giles trains and competed in Texan, fighting primarily for the RFA and Legacy, as well as the promotion that formed when the two merged.
Overall, he’s beaten a higher level of competition than Bochnovic.
While it’s still hard to pick a relatively unproven fighter to upset a larger grappler in his UFC debut, athleticism is a major bonus. Giles is the faster man and heavier puncher, and that speed edge will only be more obvious against the heavier opponent. There’s always a chance Bochnovic gets on top early and works his submission game, but odds are that Giles avoids the takedown and out-works his opponent.
Prediction: Trevin Giles via unanimous decision
Four more UFC 213 “Prelims” undercard matches to preview and predict tomorrow, including two Heavyweight fights and an intriguing Welterweight showdown. See you then!
