UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till - Predictions and Picks

#8 The Prelims: ESPN card

Tough veteran Francisco Trinaldo headlines this weekend's UFC prelims

All of Saturday’s UFC prelims will reportedly be shown on ESPN, and incredibly, there are 8 fights scheduled. That makes this card one of the biggest in UFC history in terms of the amount of fights.

At the top of the heap is a Lightweight clash between veteran Francisco Trinaldo and the UK’s Jai Herbert. Despite being 41 years old, Trinaldo has shown no signs of slowing down recently, as he comfortably outpointed John Makdessi in March.

At 10-1, Herbert clearly has talent, but this is his UFC debut and he’s facing an incredibly experienced opponent. More to the point, his grappling has never really been tested in the way that Trinaldo is capable of doing. I’ll take Trinaldo by submission in this one.

At Welterweight, Denmark’s Nicolas Dalby takes on the returning Jesse Ronson. Ronson has taken this fight on relatively late notice, and the fact that he usually fights at 155lbs should also be worrying for him. Dalby made a successful UC return in 2019, beating Alex Oliveira, and this one should also be winnable for him too. I like him to edge a decision here.

At Heavyweight, the UK’s Tom Aspinall makes his UFC debut against former Middleweight Jake Collier. A heavy hitter, Aspinall has good striking skills and fights out of Team Kaobon, which is also host to Darren Till. Collier’s grappling and toughness will make this a tricky debut for him, but whether ‘The Prototype’ will take to being at Heavyweight is a question mark. I’ll take Aspinall via decision.

In a Featherweight fight, Mike Grundy faces Movsar Evloev. A powerful grappler, Evloev is 2-0 in the UFC thus far and most recent defeated the tricky Enrique Barzola. Grundy meanwhile is a great grappler himself, one of the few UK fighters to have a base in wrestling. He’s also been highly impressive as of late, TKOing Nad Narimani in his UFC debut, although he hasn’t fought in over a year. This should be a close one to call, but I’m leaning towards Evloev via decision.

Tanner Boser returns after impressing in June to take on Raphael Pessoa in a Heavyweight clash. Pessoa clearly has some talent and impressively bested Jeff Hughes in October, but Boser looked fantastic in his win over Philipe Lins. He’s slimmed down, looks in phenomenal shape, and showed surprisingly fast hands for a big man. I’m taking Boser via TKO here.

In a Bantamweight fight, former UFC title challenger Bethe Correia faces Pannie Kianzad. A gutsy and aggressive fighter, Correia has always struggled against better athletes. She did well though in her last fight, a win over Sijara Eubanks. Kianzad isn’t the best athlete herself and to be frank, has never really beaten anyone on Correia’s level either. I think Correia can take this one by decision.

At Welterweight, Ramazan Emeev faces UFC debutant Niklas Stolze. Germany’s Soltze has a 12-3 record, but has yet to fight anyone on the level of Emeev. The Russian was outpointed by Anthony Rocco Martin in his last fight, but he’s a solid striker with extremely slick grappling. I feel like he has too much experience for Stolze here and will win by submission.

Finally, UK prospect Nathaniel Wood takes on John Castaneda at Bantamweight. Castaneda is taking this fight on horribly short notice, and while he’s got an extensive 17-4 record, it’s hard to see him having success here. Wood is a fantastic fighter in all areas and while John Dodson was a step too far for him, he should get back on the winning path here. Wood via TKO is my pick.