UFC Fight Night 154: Moicano vs. Korean Zombie - Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims: ESPN2 card

'Violent Bob Ross' Luis Pena highlights the preliminary card

All of Saturday’s preliminary bouts are being shown on ESPN2, and there are some intriguing fights on offer even if there’s little to no name value here.

A battle of two tough-as-nails Featherweights headlines, as Dan Ige takes on Kevin Aguilar. Both men have looked good in their Octagon appearances thus far, but Ige has been slightly more impressive in my opinion, particularly in his last win, a tapout of the talented Danny Henry. I’ll take Ige via decision.

At Lightweight, 13-year UFC veteran Matt Wiman returns following over four years on the shelf to face off with Luis Pena, otherwise known as the ‘Violent Bob Ross’. Pena is actually more than a gimmick – he’s a very talented fighter in all areas, but he hasn’t done quite as well in the UFC thus far as was expected, as he seems to rely too much on his physical gifts to get by. That could still be enough to get him past Wiman, though, as Wiman probably peaked somewhere around 2011 and you’ve got to question anyone who’s been out of action for as long as he has. I like Pena via decision here.

Allen Crowder, the first man to defeat Greg Hardy in MMA, returns to take on feared striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a Heavyweight bout. Rozenstruik looked excellent in his UFC debut, violently stopping Junior Albini, and while Crowder was able to survive Hardy’s early barrages, ‘Bigi Boy’ is far more experienced in fighting than the former NFL star. Given Crowder showed a questionable chin when he fought Justin Willis, and Rozenstruik was able to survive Albini on the ground, I think it’ll be the Surinamese fighter who comes out on top here. Rozenstruik via first round KO is my pick.

At Flyweight, Ariane Lipski faces Molly McCann in a pivotal fight for both women. Lipski came into the UFC with some hype only to fall short against Joanne Calderwood, but McCann is a very different fighter to the Scotswoman, as she’s more of a tough brawler than a technician and even in her recent win over Priscila Cachoeira she took a lot of damage. Lipski might be more limited than we first suspected but I think she’s got enough firepower to stop McCann in the second here.

At 185lbs, Deron Winn – a top wrestler and noted protégé of Daniel Cormier – makes his UFC debut to take on late replacement Eric Spicely, actually the third man to take this fight following the withdrawals of Bruno Silva and Markus Perez. This should be a winnable fight for Winn – he’s a massively superior athlete and should be able to take Spicely down at will, but could find himself in trouble with the crafty grappling of the veteran if he does. Thankfully for him Spicely isn’t the best striker, and Winn has shown heavy hands in his earlier fights, albeit against much lower-level opposition. I’ll take Winn by TKO, but wouldn’t be surprised to see Spicely spring the upset.

Finally Bantamweights Andre Ewell and Anderson Dos Santos open the card. Ewell impressed with his toughness and striking in his UFC debut over former champ Renan Barao, but lost to Nathaniel Wood in his last fight – not that there’s any shame in that as Wood is a fantastic prospect. I’m pretty confident he’s got enough to deal with Dos Santos here, as the Brazilian lost his UFC debut handily and only made it to the promotion as a late replacement. I’ll take Ewell via decision.