UFC Fight Night 151: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy - Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims: ESPN+ card

Top prospect Macy Chiasson is headlining the prelim card

All of this weekend’s preliminary fights will take place on ESPN+, meaning this should be an easy show to watch for US fans! Headlining the prelims is a Bantamweight fight between Macy Chiasson and Sarah Moras. After winning TUF 28 in 2018 it was hoped that Chiasson would develop into a rare prospect at Featherweight, but instead, she’s dropped to 135lbs and recently defeated Gina Mazany. Even at 135lbs she’s still an excellent prospect with a freakish reach and skills in all areas that belie her lack of experience. Moras is a solid grappler, but her lack of athleticism means she will likely struggle against Chiasson, and so I’m taking the TUF winner by TKO.

At Bantamweight, Aiemann Zahabi – brother of famed trainer Firas – takes on Vince Morales. Both men are decent enough prospects but I like Zahabi’s more methodical, technical style against Morales’s brawling and counter-punching game. I’ll go with Zahabi via decision here.

Kyle Nelson takes on Matt Sayles in a Featherweight bout which could well be considered a loser-leaves-town match. Nelson actually came into the UFC as a late replacement, but performed well against Diego Ferreira before tiring, while Sayles lost his UFC debut pretty convincingly to uber-striker Sheymon Moraes. I’m not sure that Sayles – who relies heavily on his punching power but isn’t that quick – really has the game to succeed in the UFC and so I’ll take Nelson via decision.

Veteran Nordine Taleb returns at Welterweight to face off with late replacement Kyle Prepolec, who is taking this fight after Siyar Bahadurzada withdrew. Taleb remains a tricky fighter to get a handle on – he’s extremely skilled in all areas and hits hard, but his robotic nature means he’s susceptible to the offense of more explosive opponents. Given Prepolec usually fights at 155lbs and is taking this one late, though, I’m confident in taking Taleb to beat him via decision or late TKO.

In an intriguing fight at Heavyweight, the hulking Juan Adams returns to face off with Canadian Olympic wrestler Arjan Bhullar. Bhullar was once considered a great prospect but hasn’t quite rounded out his skills as some might’ve hoped, and against a giant like Adams – who cuts to make 265lbs and has a wrestling background of his own – I think he’s in trouble. Adams by TKO is my pick.

Finally, Mitch Gagnon returns to take on Cole Smith at Bantamweight. The uber-aggressive Gagnon looked like a hell of a prospect some years ago, but he’s only fought twice since 2014 and doesn’t have a win since October of that year. Smith is another late replacement though, and with a lack of footage on him, it’s hard to really guess what he might do. Gagnon via submission is the safe pick in my opinion.