UFC Fight Night 169: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo - Predictions and Picks

#6 The Prelims: ESPN+ card

The UK's Tom Breese is set to headline this weekend's prelim card

All of this weekend’s prelims will be shown on ESPN+, with the full prelim card still to be confirmed due to some late injury replacements.

It looks like a Middleweight clash between Tom Breese and Brendan Allen will headline, and it’s hard to look past Breese in this one. Allen looks like an explosive prospect out of Roufusport, and he choked out Kevin Holland in impressive fashion last October. The UK’s Breese though – who trains with Firas Zahabi and Georges St. Pierre – could well be in title contention at this point had he not suffered so many niggling injuries. A fantastic technical fighter, Breese hits hard, has a stiff jab and is also excellent on the ground. It’ll be tough but I like Breese to win a decision.

At Heavyweight, Marcin Tybura returns to take on Sergey Spivak. Spivak shocked everyone by rebounding from an awful KO loss at the hands of Walt Harris to choke out Tai Tuivasa last year, but the truth is that he’s still a very limited fighter overall. Tybura, on the other hand, is good in all areas, with only his speed and cardio letting him down in the past. Tybura needs this win as he’s 1-4 in his last 5, but I think he pulls it off by TKO.

Jordan Griffin takes on TJ Brown in a Featherweight clash, with Griffin looking to save his UFC career after two straight losses. Brown is on a 4-fight win streak, but he doesn’t have the experience that Griffin does, which makes this a tough one to pick as all else seems even. I’ll take Griffin to edge a decision.

Also at Featherweight, Aalon Cruz takes on Spike Carlyle in a battle of UFC newcomers. Cruz earned his opportunity by knocking out an opponent with a flying knee on Dana White’s Contender Series, while Carlyle is on a 4-fight win streak. Fights between debutants are always nearly impossible to pick, especially when both guys have a similar level of experience and apparent skill; I’ll take Cruz purely because he may be more comfortable in the UFC setting.

Finally, unbeaten Renzo Gracie student Sean Brady faces Ismail Naurdiev at Welterweight. Brady looked good in his UFC debut, beating tough veteran Court McGee, while Naurdiev stunned everyone by beating Michel Prazeres in a late-notice UFC debut and then outpointed veteran Siyar Bahadurzada in his last fight. This one could be very close as both men are excellent prospects; I’ll take Naurdiev by decision, but it could go either way.