Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports
A rundown of the five preliminary card bouts set for UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker on Saturday.
The final UFC show before the Yas Isl— sorry, Fight Island shows take place, and the Apex has a purely stay-busy action card headlined by the only fight between ranked opponents. All of these are fights between people that are mostly there on the roster with no major consequence for most of these bouts, win or lose.
Does that make this a bad thing? No, but if you know enough to not expect star power and wild action on a certain kind of standard Fight Night card, this will be no different. The point here is keeping people active to see who rises and falls in their respective division, even if most of the participants are well enough outside of the top 15 in their classes.
So yeah, let’s get right on into it, shall we?
Luis Peña vs Khama Worthy
Worthy (15-6) is a 5’11 lightweight with a long and hard kicking game with accurate striking and improving takedown defense. Taking on a guy that’s down for a firefight, has a good chin, and can work great scrambles to submission entries? You’ve got a possible fight of the night on your hands here, and that’s a great thing. Peña 8-2 is a TUF product that’s 4-2 in his UFC run, but is also still working on his overall game and has a nasty submission game. Worthy’s not a slouch on the ground, and possesses savvy submission defense.
Tanner Boser vs Philipe Lins
Big dudes slinging leather is and always will be part of what draws people to MMA, and this fight is about that. Philipe Lins (14-4) made some waves in Bellator for a bit, then went on to PFL to win their heavyweight tournament with a violent exclamation point. His UFC debut against Andrei Arlovski didn’t go his way with a decision loss, but he’s a tough fighter that sometimes struggles with range but keeps a busy clinch and hits really hard.
Canada’s Boser (17-6) was the champion at Unified MMA (with an ACB run mixed in) up north before being picked up by the UFC, and has gone 1-1 under the bright lights of the UFC. A debut win over Daniel Spitz by decision didn’t set the world on fire, and a loss to Cyril Gane slowed down his momentum. He’s got a good chin on him, but abandons technique and can be a slow starter. But when he gets into his groove, he’s able to overpower opponents to walk them down and outpace them over time. This may turn into a dogfight, which wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
Takashi Sato vs Ramiz Brahimaj
Sato (15-3) is a bright PANCRASE product that knows how to finish a fight. He really pours it on in the end, but sets things up by outstriking people through pressure and sending shots down the middle, and using his sturdy frame to its fullest. Brahimaj loves him some submissions, and he’s really, really tenacious about it. His only fights that have gone to a decision have been his only losses, but he sets up sneaky takedowns and trips to work a very clever positional game that leads to chaining submission attempts. This should be a great one for all the grappling fans out there, and there should be some very compelling exchanges on the ground.
Jordan Griffin vs Youssef Zalal
One of the most intense competitors we’ve seen on Contender Series, Griffin (18-7) is another Roufusport product that made his way to the UFC after racking up a series of finishes on the regional scene, and putting away his Contender Series opponent in the first round with a rear naked choke.Once in the UFC proper, he dropped back to back decisions to Dan Ige and Chas Skelly, which don’t look bad at all these days. He came back this Feburary to choke out TJ Brown with a guillotine, showing once again what an opportunist he can be when he has an opponent hurt.
Youssef Zalal (8-2) is another fighter from the LFA ranks that has a knack for finishes with only a single decision win. If he’s not working submissions, he’s hunting for stunners like this. With a measured boxing game and explosive offense bursts, Zalal is a problem, and he’s only getting better. Griffin may have successes in the clinch, but Zalal is tough to keep down and can work his way off his back while being dangerous with submission attempts. Griffin also punches harder, and will have to be mindful of Zalal’s counter game.
Jinh Yu Frey vs Kay Hansen
So two Invicta alumni make it to the UFC and their first fight is against each other. That’s interesting enough. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Jinh Yu Frey (9-4) is moving up from atomweight, where she’s spent almost the entirety of her career. Hansen has physicality with very strong grappling with tremendous pressure, and is never out of the fight. After getting dominated against power wrestler Sharon Jacobson, Hansen pulled off a spectacular comeback win in the final seconds of the fight. Frey’s got hard striking, great scrambles and set of sharp knees to outwork opponents in the clinch. Hansen could end up controlling and taking over as the fight goes on while on the ground, but she’s got to get Frey down there first — and she won’t make it easy for Hansen.
UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Hooker takes place this Saturday night with prelims starting at 5:00pm EST on ESPN and ESPN+.