UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya - Predictions and Picks

#5 The Prelims: ESPN card

Youngster Jake Matthews heads up this weekend's prelim card

Headlining this weekend’s ESPN prelims is Jake Matthews, who can still be classed as a prospect at the age of 25 despite spending the last 5 years in the UFC. Matthews is a well-rounded fighter who can strike, wrestle and grapple well, and his only losses – outside of the Andrew Holbrook fight that saw him injure himself early – have been to fighters able to outright best him in one single area. He’s faced with Sweden’s Rostem Akman here and well, to say this sounds like a layup for Matthews is probably an understatement. Akman showed very little in his UFC debut this June and while Matthews has been out for a while (since December) he’s still the kind of fighter who can make huge leaps forward during periods away. I like Matthews by submission here.

Next up is a clash of Heavyweights, as newcomers Justin Tafa and Yorgan De Castro face off. Tafa – a native of Australia – is very inexperienced at 3-0 but looks like a heavy hitter while De Castro, the first UFC fighter from Cape Verde, impressed in his win on Dana White’s Contender Series. This one likely isn’t going the distance but I’m taking De Castro to upset the crowd and win by KO. He just seems like the more proven fighter right now and Tafa’s highlights show worrying sloppiness.

At Welterweight, Callan Potter faces Hawaii’s Maki Pitolo. Again, I’m going with the foreign fighter here; Aussie veteran Potter came into UFC 234 on late notice and ‘The Rock Star’ didn’t really impress in a loss to Jalin Turner, and while he has 17 wins, none of them really leap out as UFC-worthy. Pitolo meanwhile looked solid on Dana White’s Contender Series and has experience in Bellator as well as against veterans like Andrews Nakahara. I’ll take the Hawaiian by TKO here.

Finally Megan Anderson returns at Featherweight to face newcomer Zarah Fairn Dos Santos. Despite being 1-2 in the UFC with that lone win being a controversial one, in such a thin division the marketable Anderson is still perhaps only a couple of wins away from a title shot. Better for her, Dos Santos looks like more of a striker than a grappler, and of course, Anderson has excellent kickboxing while grappling has proven to be her Achilles heel. This should be Anderson’s chance for a big win and I’ll take her to pull it off by TKO.