UFC Fight Night 112 predictions: ‘Chiesa vs Lee’ Fight Pass ‘Prelims’ undercard preview

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to UFC Fight Pass and FOX Sports 2 this weekend (Sun., June 25, 2017) when UFC Fight Night 112: “Chiesa vs. Lee” storms Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC Fight Night 112 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.

Okay, this beef might actually be real …

After a contentious press conference that saw a punch thrown, Lightweight standouts Michael Chiesa are Kevin Lee are set to settle things this Sunday evening (June 25, 2017) in UFC Fight Night 112’s main event inside Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

In FOX Sports 1’s co-feature, Johny Hendricks makes his second official appearance at Middleweight against Tim Boetsch, while Felice Herrig takes on Justine Kish and Joachim Christensen welcomes Dominick Reyes to the Octagon.

UFC Fight Night 112 is set to feature seven “Prelims” undercard matches, four on FOX Sports 2 and three on Fight Pass. Let’s begin with the latter:

145 lbs.: Jared Gordon vs. Michel Quinones

This fight was supposed to happen at UFC 211 before Jared Gordon (12-1) got food poisoning, so I’m just going to go ahead and paste what I wrote last time.

“Flash” — though not the SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE, rebounded from his first career loss to Jeff Lentz by winning the CFFC Featherweight title. In his first defense, he impressed Dana White and Co. enough to be the latest Lookin’ for a Fight acquisition.

He has knocked out five opponents and submitted another two.

A striker out of American Top Team, Michel Quinones (8-1) knocked out three consecutive opponents in the first round, including The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 competitor Billy Quarantillo to earn a call up to Titan FC. There, he picked up just his second decision win over previously unbeaten Caio Uruguai.

He was originally set to debut in February against Alexander Volkanovski before suffering an injury.

There’s not much out there on Gordon save highlights, but thankfully, Fight Pass has Quinones’ last fight. “El Capo” is an aggressive, powerful striker with a tricky left leg, but has a tendency to rush forward when attacking in combination and open himself up to counters. What I can piece together of Gordon suggests a strong wrestler with pop in his hands.

While they’re both solid, Gordon gets my tentative nod. He looks capable on the counter and, though Quinones’ takedown defense looked stout, those charges are just begging for a well-timed double-leg takedown. Gordon mixes striking and takedowns for a decision win.

Prediction: Gordon via unanimous decision

205 lbs.: Josh Stansbury vs. Jeremy Kimball

Team Joanna’s first Light Heavyweight pick on TUF 23, Josh Stansbury (8-3) defeated Abdel Medjedoub in the quarterfinals before a knockout loss to Khalil Rountree ended his run in the semifinals. He went on to beat Team Claudia’s Cory Hendricks at the Finale and lose a decision to Devin Clark at the next Finale four months later.

He will have two inches of height and reach on the 6’ Jeremy Kimball (14-6).

Knockouts of former TUF finalist Matt Van Buren and Croatian veteran Maro Perak earned Kimball a call up to UFC, where he faced Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima on short notice. “Pezao’s” power proved too much as he handed Kimball the first knockout loss of his professional career midway through the first round.

Ten of his 14 professional wins have come via (technical) knockout.

What I said last time remains true: Kimball is not a Light Heavyweight, he’s a Middleweight with zero discipline. He honestly reminds me a bit of Chris “Beast Boy” Barnett in that he’s a quality athlete with more flexibility than you’d expect, but he could be so much more.

The size issue and his iffy takedown defense may doom him here. Though he’s a lot faster and smoother than Stansbury on the feet, I’m not convinced he can stay there long enough to drop the hammer. So long as Stansbury comes out looking to wrestle, expect him to overpower Kimball for a decision win.

Prediction: Stansbury via unanimous decision

155 lbs.: Tony Martin vs. Johnny Case

Despite his strength and grappling skills, Tony Martin (11-3) opened his UFC career 1-3, thrice gassing out in fights he was winning. He’s shown a bit more longevity in recent times, submitting Felipe Olivieri in the third round and taking a decision over Alex White.

Eight of his professional wins have come by submission.

A shaky split decision over E.J. Brooks in his last pre-UFC appearance gave way to four consecutive wins, including a savage guillotine against Kazuki Tokudome and a beatdown of Frankie Perez. This set the stage for a prospect clash with Jake Matthews, who submitted Johnny Case (22-5) with just 15 seconds left in the fight.

This will be “Hollywood’s” first fight in 15 months.

I’m a fan of Case, but his last few performances have been decidedly iffy. The Cabral fight in particular raises eyebrows as, while an ace on the mat, the Brazilian’s takedowns are decidedly substandard and yet produced results.

Martin’s aren’t. The man is colossal for the division and extremely adept from top position. Though Case is by far the smoother and more powerful striker, he may not have the necessary takedown defense to ply his craft, especially since Martin’s cardio seems to finally be worth a damn. Careful takedowns and top pressure carry Martin to a submission victory.

Prediction: Martin via second-round submission

Four more UFC Fight Night 112 “Prelims” matches to preview and predict fights tomorrow, including the return of Darrell Horcher and a former champion’s latest bout. See you then, Maniacs!

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 112 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET before the FOX Sports 2 “Prelims” undercard and FOX Sports 1 main card start time at 9 p.m. ET.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing a bevy of “Prelims” fights to UFC Fight Pass and FOX Sports 2 this weekend (Sun., June 25, 2017) when UFC Fight Night 112: “Chiesa vs. Lee” storms Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg kicks off the UFC Fight Night 112 “Prelims” party with the first installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.

Okay, this beef might actually be real …

After a contentious press conference that saw a punch thrown, Lightweight standouts Michael Chiesa are Kevin Lee are set to settle things this Sunday evening (June 25, 2017) in UFC Fight Night 112’s main event inside Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

In FOX Sports 1’s co-feature, Johny Hendricks makes his second official appearance at Middleweight against Tim Boetsch, while Felice Herrig takes on Justine Kish and Joachim Christensen welcomes Dominick Reyes to the Octagon.

UFC Fight Night 112 is set to feature seven “Prelims” undercard matches, four on FOX Sports 2 and three on Fight Pass. Let’s begin with the latter:

145 lbs.: Jared Gordon vs. Michel Quinones

This fight was supposed to happen at UFC 211 before Jared Gordon (12-1) got food poisoning, so I’m just going to go ahead and paste what I wrote last time.

“Flash” — though not the SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE, rebounded from his first career loss to Jeff Lentz by winning the CFFC Featherweight title. In his first defense, he impressed Dana White and Co. enough to be the latest Lookin’ for a Fight acquisition.

He has knocked out five opponents and submitted another two.

A striker out of American Top Team, Michel Quinones (8-1) knocked out three consecutive opponents in the first round, including The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 competitor Billy Quarantillo to earn a call up to Titan FC. There, he picked up just his second decision win over previously unbeaten Caio Uruguai.

He was originally set to debut in February against Alexander Volkanovski before suffering an injury.

There’s not much out there on Gordon save highlights, but thankfully, Fight Pass has Quinones’ last fight. “El Capo” is an aggressive, powerful striker with a tricky left leg, but has a tendency to rush forward when attacking in combination and open himself up to counters. What I can piece together of Gordon suggests a strong wrestler with pop in his hands.

While they’re both solid, Gordon gets my tentative nod. He looks capable on the counter and, though Quinones’ takedown defense looked stout, those charges are just begging for a well-timed double-leg takedown. Gordon mixes striking and takedowns for a decision win.

Prediction: Gordon via unanimous decision

205 lbs.: Josh Stansbury vs. Jeremy Kimball

Team Joanna’s first Light Heavyweight pick on TUF 23, Josh Stansbury (8-3) defeated Abdel Medjedoub in the quarterfinals before a knockout loss to Khalil Rountree ended his run in the semifinals. He went on to beat Team Claudia’s Cory Hendricks at the Finale and lose a decision to Devin Clark at the next Finale four months later.

He will have two inches of height and reach on the 6’ Jeremy Kimball (14-6).

Knockouts of former TUF finalist Matt Van Buren and Croatian veteran Maro Perak earned Kimball a call up to UFC, where he faced Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima on short notice. “Pezao’s” power proved too much as he handed Kimball the first knockout loss of his professional career midway through the first round.

Ten of his 14 professional wins have come via (technical) knockout.

What I said last time remains true: Kimball is not a Light Heavyweight, he’s a Middleweight with zero discipline. He honestly reminds me a bit of Chris “Beast Boy” Barnett in that he’s a quality athlete with more flexibility than you’d expect, but he could be so much more.

The size issue and his iffy takedown defense may doom him here. Though he’s a lot faster and smoother than Stansbury on the feet, I’m not convinced he can stay there long enough to drop the hammer. So long as Stansbury comes out looking to wrestle, expect him to overpower Kimball for a decision win.

Prediction: Stansbury via unanimous decision

155 lbs.: Tony Martin vs. Johnny Case

Despite his strength and grappling skills, Tony Martin (11-3) opened his UFC career 1-3, thrice gassing out in fights he was winning. He’s shown a bit more longevity in recent times, submitting Felipe Olivieri in the third round and taking a decision over Alex White.

Eight of his professional wins have come by submission.

A shaky split decision over E.J. Brooks in his last pre-UFC appearance gave way to four consecutive wins, including a savage guillotine against Kazuki Tokudome and a beatdown of Frankie Perez. This set the stage for a prospect clash with Jake Matthews, who submitted Johnny Case (22-5) with just 15 seconds left in the fight.

This will be “Hollywood’s” first fight in 15 months.

I’m a fan of Case, but his last few performances have been decidedly iffy. The Cabral fight in particular raises eyebrows as, while an ace on the mat, the Brazilian’s takedowns are decidedly substandard and yet produced results.

Martin’s aren’t. The man is colossal for the division and extremely adept from top position. Though Case is by far the smoother and more powerful striker, he may not have the necessary takedown defense to ply his craft, especially since Martin’s cardio seems to finally be worth a damn. Careful takedowns and top pressure carry Martin to a submission victory.

Prediction: Martin via second-round submission

Four more UFC Fight Night 112 “Prelims” matches to preview and predict fights tomorrow, including the return of Darrell Horcher and a former champion’s latest bout. See you then, Maniacs!

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 112 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET before the FOX Sports 2 “Prelims” undercard and FOX Sports 1 main card start time at 9 p.m. ET.