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#7 The Prelims: ESPN+ card
This is one of those Fight Night shows that’s set to air completely on the ESPN+ streaming service, giving a few flashbacks to the Fox Sports 1 days. Hopefully, the pace is much quicker than we used to get back then!
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At the top of the prelim card is a Bantamweight fight between Sijara Eubanks and Aspen Ladd. To me this is some strange matchmaking; Eubanks, a top contender at Strawweight, is moving to Bantamweight for the first time in the UFC and she’s faced with one of the best prospects in the division in Ladd, who we last saw destroying former title challenger Tonya Evinger.
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And more to the point, the two have already faced off once, in Invicta, and Ladd won a decision. Eubanks has shown herself to be a pretty great grappler but I worry for her here due to Ladd’s size and sheer aggression. I’ll go with Ladd via unanimous decision again.
At Lightweight, stifling wrestler Desmond Green returns to face Canadian newcomer Charles Jourdain. I’m actually not sure why this fight wasn’t put on the Canadian Fight Night card two weeks ago but that’s a tangent; I can’t see Jourdain stopping the takedown so I’ll go with Green via decision.
Welterweight Michel Pereira – who went viral due to his downright bizarre Openweight fight in Road FC with Kim Dae Sung that saw the Brazilian attempt multiple backflip-based moves – debuts in the Octagon to face the UK’s Danny Roberts, a tough veteran with plenty of power of his own.
This should be an exciting fight for as long as it lasts, but I worry about Pereira’s wild nature and so I think Roberts will shut him down after a crazy brawl. Roberts via TKO is my pick.
At Featherweight, former TUF winner Michael Trizano returns to face Grant Dawson, who found himself in hot water with USADA in 2017 before returning in 2019 to pick up his first UFC win. This should be a tough grappling match but I like Trizano to grind out a decision down the stretch.
We should be in for a genuinely filthy brawl at 205lbs as Patrick Cummins takes on Ed Herman in a fight where defence will likely be the last thing on either man’s mind. Both men have pretty solid skills but at the tail end of their careers, they’re much more likely to simply trade off and throw down.
In that case, I like Herman, who appears to have more of a chin left these days, via TKO.
Middleweights Trevin Giles and Zak Cummings face off in a fight which hardly does a lot to enthuse, given Cummings’ absolutely dull style inside the cage. Giles is unbeaten at 11-0 and has two UFC wins to his name – and also beat Ryan Spann on the regional circuit – but this will be a tough one for him. I’m hoping for a Giles KO but a Cummings decision also wouldn’t be a shocker.
Finally, Featherweights Julio Arce and Julian Erosa will open the card, with Arce looking to bounce back from his first UFC loss – a wild bloodbath against Sheymon Moraes. Thankfully for Arce, Erosa isn’t anywhere close to the athlete that Moraes is, and Arce is a dangerous finisher in all areas. I like Arce to hurt Erosa early and put him away either with a submission or a TKO.
