UFC Fight Night 166: Blaydes vs Dos Santos - Predictions and Picks

#6 The Prelims: ESPN+ card

The weekend's best prelim fight sees prospect Arnold Allen take on veteran Nik Lentz

All of this weekend’s prelims will be on ESPN+, meaning it’ll be a marathon on the streaming service for anyone wishing to watch the entire card.

At the top of the prelims is a Middleweight clash between Bevon Lewis and Dequan Townsend. Lewis is blessed with a fantastic nickname – ‘The Extraordinary Gentleman’ – but hasn’t shown all that much in the UFC as his first two fights ended in losses. Townsend meanwhile lost to Dalcha Lungiambula in his debut, but acquitted himself well considering he took the fight on late notice. He’s also far more experienced, having 30 fights to Lewis’s 8. I’m going with Townsend via decision here.

At Featherweight, we’ve got an intriguing fight between Arnold Allen and Nik Lentz. I’m honestly not sure why this isn’t on the main card as it’s a fantastic match; Allen is a blue-chip prospect fighting out of Firas Zahabi’s camp, and he’s 6-0 in the UFC and is surely on the cusp of title contention. He was initially pegged to fight Josh Emmett in a huge fight here, but is instead matched with tough veteran Lentz, who’s been in the UFC for a decade now and is still a tricky match for most. However, ‘The Carny’ is not as durable as he once was, and more to the point, I feel like he’s outgunned in the grappling area here, which isn’t usually the case. I think Allen gets him out of there in impressive fashion – call it a first-round TKO in fact.

Justine Kish returns at Flyweight to take on the ultra-tough Lucie Pudilova, and given both women are on losing streaks, the loser may well end up cut. I like Pudilova in this one, as she’s the bigger fighter, and is extremely powerful inside the clinch, particularly with her elbow strikes. Plus, there’s no shame in her losses to Irene Aldana, Liz Carmouche or Antonina Shevchenko. Pudilova by decision is my pick.

At Bantamweight, Felipe Colares faces Montel Jackson. This is another solid fight; Colares picked up his first UFC win in July, while Jackson has two UFC victories to his name, over two notable opponents too in Andre Soukhamthath and Brian Kelleher. I’m going with Jackson here, as he seems to be the more explosive athlete and Colares didn’t appear to have much in the way of power or finishing skills in his previous fights. Jackson via TKO is my pick.

In a Bantamweight match, veteran Sara McMann returns from nearly two years away to take on Sweden’s ‘Elbow Queen’ Lina Lansberg. This one sounds like it could be a watershed moment for Lansberg – McMann is 39 years old, is coming off maternity leave, and even before she departed, she’d lost her last two fights in pretty convincing fashion, while ‘Elbow Queen’ is coming off a huge win over top prospect Macy Chiasson. I’ll take Lansberg via decision here.

Brett Johns is back after a long layoff due to injuries to take on newcomer Tony Gravely, who emerged from Dana White’s Contender Series last summer. Gravely looks like an interesting prospect; incredibly quick and explosive, he’s got just 1 loss in his last 12 fights, and has 8 KO’s amongst his 19 wins. With Johns coming off a layoff, could he be susceptible to being caught with something nasty? For sure, but then ‘The Pikey’ is a hugely talented fighter and it’s hard to count his losses to Pedro Munhoz and Aljamain Sterling – two title contenders – against him. Given the majority of Gravely’s victims were low-level fighters, I like Johns to win this one by decision after a tough battle.

Finally, at Featherweight Herbert Burns faces Nate Landwehr. Burns – the brother of the UFC’s Gilbert – looks like a talented grappler with a lot of athleticism and power, but he’s got less experience than Landwehr, who has been fighting – and winning – on the tough Russian circuit. Burns might have a bright future ahead of him but I’m going with the slight upset here and taking Landwehr to grind out a decision.