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UFC Fight Night 82 ‘Prelims:’ FOX Sports 1 undercard preview and predictions, Pt. 2
More fights are coming to Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., Feb. 6, 2016) when UFC Fight Night 82: “Hendricks vs. Thompson” kicks off from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Fight Night 82 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part under card preview series.
Like a rolling stone …
One prolonged fiasco later, UFC 196 is now bereft of its title fight (Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez), pay-per-view (PPV) status and even its name. Now, with no chrome horse, it’s UFC Fight Night 82, which will take place live and free from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on FOX Sports 1 this Saturday night (Feb. 6, 2016).
Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson take center stage in a five-round Welterweight showdown, while Roy Nelson takes on Jared Rosholt 95 pounds north in the co-main event. On top of that, there’s a brutal Light Heavyweight battle between Ovince St-Preux and Rafael Cavalcante on the docket.
Yesterday, we covered the Fight Pass portion of the undercard (read that here). Today, it’s FOX Sports 1’s time to shine. Check out UFC Fight Night 82’s four-fight FOX Sports 1 “Prelims” line up below:
170 lbs.: Josh Burkman vs. K.J. Noons
Josh Burkman (27-12) enjoyed an unexpected resurgence following his release from UFC, going 9-2 with wins over Jon Fitch, Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris, among others, to earn another go in the Octagon. His second go-around has not been a fruitful one, however, as he is 0-2 (1 NC) with both losses coming via stoppage.
“People’s Warrior” has submitted 10 professional opponents and knocked out another seven.
K.J. Noons (13-8) broke a horrendous 1-5 stretch with consecutive wins over George Sotiropoulos and Sam Stout, the latter resulting in Stout’s first-ever knockout loss. “King” is winless since, following a “No Contest” against Daron Cruickshank with a one-sided loss to Alex Oliveira.
He has won nine fights via knockout, though just two since 2008.
This is one of those fights where I expect one guy to win, but would not be surprised at all if he found some way to bungle it up. Burkman should, by all accounts, dominate Noons. K.J. has looked great in all of one fight since 2011, maybe two if you’re generous about his fight with Ryan Couture. He’s also undersized for Welterweight and a non-entity on his back.
Burkman has the skills to overpower and batter Noons — it just depends on where his head is. His fight IQ has been lacking recently, especially against Dong Hyun Kim, whom he managed to hurt multiple times, but decided to clinch with for some reason.
Noons isn’t that level of opponent, though, so expect a grinding decision or submission stoppage for “People’s Warrior.”
Prediction: Burkman via unanimous decision
265 lbs.: Derrick Lewis vs. Damian Grabowski
Derrick Lewis (13-4) entered his Oct. 2014 showdown with Viktor Pesta with two knockout losses in his previous three fights. With his back against the wall, however, Lewis came through, surviving a pair of difficult rounds to dispatch the exhausted Czech with ground-and-pound in the third.
“Black Beast” owns 12 wins via form of knockout and the thirteenth by submission.
Damian Grabowski (20-2) joined Bellator as a competitor in its first-ever Heavyweight tournament, beating Scott Barrett before losing a decision to eventual winner Cole Konrad. He’s since gone 7-1 with wins over the likes of Eddie Sanchez, Stav Economou and Konstantin Gluhov, among others, and with the only loss coming to fellow UFC signee Marcin Tybura.
“Polish Pitbull” will give up two inches of height to the 6’3″ Lewis.
Lewis has a bevy of obvious flaws in his game, from his lack of a jab to his questionable takedown defense, but he has one thing going for him that many other men his size lack: He carries his power late. He has surprisingly good cardio and excels at laying the hammer down once his opponent’s exhausted themselves trying to manhandle him.
It’s a pretty good skill to have against “Polish Pitbull.”
Grabowski is a solid wrestler with an arsenal of submissions from top control. What he isn’t is smothering, and that’s what costs him here. Lewis only has to get on top once to end this, and he should get that opportunity sometime in the first two rounds.
Prediction: Lewis via second-round technical knockout
125 lbs.: Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
Ray Borg (9-1) hopped right into the Flyweight deep end in his debut, a tooth-and-nail scrap with Dustin Ortiz that saw Borg lose a split decision. He’s since picked up three straight dominant victories, putting the 22-year-old on the cusp of contendership.
He is three inches shorter than the 5’7″ Justin Scoggins (10-2).
American Top Team (ATT)-trained Scoggins roared out of the gate with seven stoppages in his first nine fights, only to drop consecutive bouts to Dustin Ortiz and John Moraga. Injury held him to one appearance in 2015, where he re-entered the win column by defeating former CFA champion Josh Sampo.
He owns six wins via knockout, including one by hook kick.
This one’s got major “Fight of the Night” potential — both men are brilliant to watch and always chasing the finish. With a combined age of just 45, there’s a great chance that they’ll be elite for years to come.
At this point in their careers, I’m leaning toward Borg.
Scoggins is the better striker of the two and will enjoy a considerable edge in length, but I’m not convinced he can maintain distance here the way he did against Sampo. Borg has an excellent takedown game to complement his scrambling ability — odds are he gets Scoggins to the floor at one point or another.
From there, he’s just too good. Expect him to snag a submission in transition late in the fight.
Prediction: Borg via third-round submission
145 lbs.: Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
Israel’s Noad Lahat (9-1) hit a roadblock right out of the gate in his UFC career in the form of Godofredo “Pepey’s” flying knee, which handed him his first-ever loss. Subsequent fights saw him demonstrate his grit with tough wins over Steven Siler and Niklas Backstrom.
He has four professional wins via submission and another two by technical knockout.
Diego Rivas (6-0), competing as part of Team Werdum, lost to Gabriel Benitez via submission in the opening round of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): “Latin America.” Despite the loss, he got the chance to join UFC proper, where he defeated castmate Rodolfo Rubio Perez in Brazil.
This will be his first fight since Nov. 2014.
Lahat’s lack of high-level finishing ability limits his ceiling and he has a tendency to get in some pretty bad spots, but his grit and wrestling ability go a long way against the middle of the division. Fortunately, Rivas numbers among those ill-equipped to handle his style. The Chilean has little-to-no experience against strong opposition and is, by all accounts, due for an extremely bad time on the ground.
TUF: “Latin America” fighters have surprised us at times, but at least on paper, the question isn’t whether Rivas can win, but rather whether he can survive. I say he does — Lahat dominates on the mat for 15 painful minutes.
Prediction: Lahat via unanimous decision
UFC Fight Night 82 is not a terrible card … and free is a pretty solid deal.
Current UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record 2016: 11-13-1
More fights are coming to Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 this weekend (Sat., Feb. 6, 2016) when UFC Fight Night 82: “Hendricks vs. Thompson” kicks off from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Fight Night 82 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part under card preview series.
Like a rolling stone …
One prolonged fiasco later, UFC 196 is now bereft of its title fight (Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez), pay-per-view (PPV) status and even its name. Now, with no chrome horse, it’s UFC Fight Night 82, which will take place live and free from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on FOX Sports 1 this Saturday night (Feb. 6, 2016).
Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson take center stage in a five-round Welterweight showdown, while Roy Nelson takes on Jared Rosholt 95 pounds north in the co-main event. On top of that, there’s a brutal Light Heavyweight battle between Ovince St-Preux and Rafael Cavalcante on the docket.
Yesterday, we covered the Fight Pass portion of the undercard (read that here). Today, it’s FOX Sports 1’s time to shine. Check out UFC Fight Night 82’s four-fight FOX Sports 1 “Prelims” line up below:
170 lbs.: Josh Burkman vs. K.J. Noons
Josh Burkman (27-12) enjoyed an unexpected resurgence following his release from UFC, going 9-2 with wins over Jon Fitch, Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris, among others, to earn another go in the Octagon. His second go-around has not been a fruitful one, however, as he is 0-2 (1 NC) with both losses coming via stoppage.
“People’s Warrior” has submitted 10 professional opponents and knocked out another seven.
K.J. Noons (13-8) broke a horrendous 1-5 stretch with consecutive wins over George Sotiropoulos and Sam Stout, the latter resulting in Stout’s first-ever knockout loss. “King” is winless since, following a “No Contest” against Daron Cruickshank with a one-sided loss to Alex Oliveira.
He has won nine fights via knockout, though just two since 2008.
This is one of those fights where I expect one guy to win, but would not be surprised at all if he found some way to bungle it up. Burkman should, by all accounts, dominate Noons. K.J. has looked great in all of one fight since 2011, maybe two if you’re generous about his fight with Ryan Couture. He’s also undersized for Welterweight and a non-entity on his back.
Burkman has the skills to overpower and batter Noons — it just depends on where his head is. His fight IQ has been lacking recently, especially against Dong Hyun Kim, whom he managed to hurt multiple times, but decided to clinch with for some reason.
Noons isn’t that level of opponent, though, so expect a grinding decision or submission stoppage for “People’s Warrior.”
Prediction: Burkman via unanimous decision
265 lbs.: Derrick Lewis vs. Damian Grabowski
Derrick Lewis (13-4) entered his Oct. 2014 showdown with Viktor Pesta with two knockout losses in his previous three fights. With his back against the wall, however, Lewis came through, surviving a pair of difficult rounds to dispatch the exhausted Czech with ground-and-pound in the third.
“Black Beast” owns 12 wins via form of knockout and the thirteenth by submission.
Damian Grabowski (20-2) joined Bellator as a competitor in its first-ever Heavyweight tournament, beating Scott Barrett before losing a decision to eventual winner Cole Konrad. He’s since gone 7-1 with wins over the likes of Eddie Sanchez, Stav Economou and Konstantin Gluhov, among others, and with the only loss coming to fellow UFC signee Marcin Tybura.
“Polish Pitbull” will give up two inches of height to the 6’3″ Lewis.
Lewis has a bevy of obvious flaws in his game, from his lack of a jab to his questionable takedown defense, but he has one thing going for him that many other men his size lack: He carries his power late. He has surprisingly good cardio and excels at laying the hammer down once his opponent’s exhausted themselves trying to manhandle him.
It’s a pretty good skill to have against “Polish Pitbull.”
Grabowski is a solid wrestler with an arsenal of submissions from top control. What he isn’t is smothering, and that’s what costs him here. Lewis only has to get on top once to end this, and he should get that opportunity sometime in the first two rounds.
Prediction: Lewis via second-round technical knockout
125 lbs.: Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
Ray Borg (9-1) hopped right into the Flyweight deep end in his debut, a tooth-and-nail scrap with Dustin Ortiz that saw Borg lose a split decision. He’s since picked up three straight dominant victories, putting the 22-year-old on the cusp of contendership.
He is three inches shorter than the 5’7″ Justin Scoggins (10-2).
American Top Team (ATT)-trained Scoggins roared out of the gate with seven stoppages in his first nine fights, only to drop consecutive bouts to Dustin Ortiz and John Moraga. Injury held him to one appearance in 2015, where he re-entered the win column by defeating former CFA champion Josh Sampo.
He owns six wins via knockout, including one by hook kick.
This one’s got major “Fight of the Night” potential — both men are brilliant to watch and always chasing the finish. With a combined age of just 45, there’s a great chance that they’ll be elite for years to come.
At this point in their careers, I’m leaning toward Borg.
Scoggins is the better striker of the two and will enjoy a considerable edge in length, but I’m not convinced he can maintain distance here the way he did against Sampo. Borg has an excellent takedown game to complement his scrambling ability — odds are he gets Scoggins to the floor at one point or another.
From there, he’s just too good. Expect him to snag a submission in transition late in the fight.
Prediction: Borg via third-round submission
145 lbs.: Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
Israel’s Noad Lahat (9-1) hit a roadblock right out of the gate in his UFC career in the form of Godofredo “Pepey’s” flying knee, which handed him his first-ever loss. Subsequent fights saw him demonstrate his grit with tough wins over Steven Siler and Niklas Backstrom.
He has four professional wins via submission and another two by technical knockout.
Diego Rivas (6-0), competing as part of Team Werdum, lost to Gabriel Benitez via submission in the opening round of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): “Latin America.” Despite the loss, he got the chance to join UFC proper, where he defeated castmate Rodolfo Rubio Perez in Brazil.
This will be his first fight since Nov. 2014.
Lahat’s lack of high-level finishing ability limits his ceiling and he has a tendency to get in some pretty bad spots, but his grit and wrestling ability go a long way against the middle of the division. Fortunately, Rivas numbers among those ill-equipped to handle his style. The Chilean has little-to-no experience against strong opposition and is, by all accounts, due for an extremely bad time on the ground.
TUF: “Latin America” fighters have surprised us at times, but at least on paper, the question isn’t whether Rivas can win, but rather whether he can survive. I say he does — Lahat dominates on the mat for 15 painful minutes.
Prediction: Lahat via unanimous decision
UFC Fight Night 82 is not a terrible card … and free is a pretty solid deal.
