UFC Fight Night 142: Dos Santos vs. Tuivasa - Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims: Fox Sports 1 card

Longtime veteran Yushin Okami headlines the prelim card

Headlining the FS1 portion of the prelims will be a Welterweight tilt between veteran Yushin Okami and a relative newcomer in Alexey Kunchenko, who debuted with a win over another veteran in Thiago Alves a couple of months ago. In his prime I’d have sided with Okami here; his stifling grappling game would’ve been tailor-made to deal with a relatively low-output kickboxer like Kunchenko, but with years of damage under his belt – including 4 relatively recent TKO losses – I worry that ‘Thunder’ might be shot. Kunchenko via second round TKO is the pick.

Next we’ve got what might be one of the UFC’s final Flyweight bouts between former title challenger Wilson Reis and the ultra-aggressive prospect Ben Nguyen. This one should come down to whether Reis can handle the inevitable early storm from Nguyen and manage to wear him out with his takedowns and grappling; in his prime I’d have taken Reis but at 33 he seems to be slowing down and he’s lost 3 in a row to superior athletes. I’m going with Nguyen via third round TKO.

At Welterweight we’ve got veteran grappler Keita Nakamura taking on Polish fighter Salim Touahri, who hasn’t fought in over a year since a loss to Warlley Alves as a last-minute replacement. Nakamura has actually been fighting for 15 years now, but doesn’t look markedly slower or any less durable than he did when he debuted in the UFC in 2008; I simply can’t pick someone as unproven as Touahri over a grappler of his calibre in good conscience, so I’ll take Nakamura via decision.

Another Flyweight bout sees newcomers Kai Kara-France and Elias Garcia facing off. A veteran of TUF 24, Kara-France showed some potential on the reality show, knocking out Terrence Mitchell before falling to Alexandre Pantoja – a genuine contender in his own right. The Kiwi prospect doesn’t look like a complete fighter yet, but I give him the edge over Garcia, who didn’t show a lot in his UFC debut and is taking this fight on short notice. Kara-France via second round TKO is my pick.