Top-flight MMA fights will return to our screens this coming weekend. UFC Vegas 47 is set to go down on February 5 and will be headlined by a pivotal middleweight fight between Sean Strickland and Jack Hermansson.
Strickland is hoping to keep his perfect middleweight run going after stringing together five straight wins since jumping up to 185lbs. Hermansson represents his toughest task to date, as the ‘The Joker’ has been mixing it at a much higher level for a lot longer.
Before the main event, we have a stacked fight card that features the likes of Sam Alvey, Julian Erosa and Hakeem Dawodu.
Join LowKickMMA as we preview, predict, and hopefully win some money betting on UFC Vegas 47.
Sean Strickland vs. Jack Hermansson
We really can’t express how much we love the UFC Vegas 47 headliner. It is a genuine 50/50 with absolute title implications. Strickland is the 1.44 favourite with Betway and we tend to agree with those odds. ‘Tarzan’ is in great form right now and at 30 years old he appears to be hitting his peak. Strickland fights at a relentless pace and we think Hermansson will struggle to keep him at bay for as long as this fight lasts.
‘The Joker’ is certainly no pushover and at odds of 2.75, he’s for sure a live dog in this fight. If Hermansson is to get this one done it will most likely be by taking his opponent to the mat and utilizing his wicked submission game.
Julian Erosa vs. Steve Peterson
Julian Erosa is never in a dull fight. ‘Juicy’ is a seriously underappreciated player at featherweight. He may never get into title contention or even crack the rankings, but Erosa is more than capable of causing top 145lb fighters all sorts of problems. The TUF veteran heads into this fight a significant 1.33 favourite over Steven Peterson.
Peterson has had a mixed bag of results since joining the UFC but has managed to string a two-fight win streak together, albeit against lower-level opposition. If Erosa is on his game he should get this one done. Whatever happens, we’re expecting this to be one of the best fights UFC Vegas 47 has to offer.
Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov
Their records may look similar but we are surprised to see these two men matched up so soon. Punahele Soriano has been mixing it at a pretty high level since joining the promotion and for the most part, has equipped himself well. Nick Maximov is young, undefeated, and even has ties to the Diaz Brothers, so you’d think the UFC would want to build him up somewhat before throwing him to the wolves.
Maximov looked decent without seriously impressing in his UFC debut. We think he’s got his work cut out for him at UFC Vegas 47 and so do the bookmakers who’ve priced him at 2.62 to get the win. Soriano is understandably the 1.50 favourite and we think he’ll make good on Saturday night.