UFC Fight Night 178: Covington vs. Woodley - Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims: UFC on ESPN+ card

Mirsad Bektic is still one of the top prospects in the 145lbs division despite some recent setbacks

Probably anticipating plenty of changes to the card due to COVID-19, the UFC has booked a monstrous eight-fight preliminary card for this show.

Headlining the prelim portion is a Featherweight meeting between Mirsad Bektic and Luiz Garagorri. Long considered one of the 145lbs division’s best prospects, Bektic is an explosive fighter who has brute-force takedowns and hits extremely hard. His last outing was highly controversial, too, as he came out on the wrong end of a tight decision in a fight against Dan Ige that many people felt he won.

Garagorri, meanwhile, is a flashy offensive fighter coming out of Uruguay. A hard-hitting striker willing to throw caution to the wind, he’ll have a chance of winning if he can keep Bektic at a distance. However, in all honesty, it’s hard to see him stopping the Bosnian’s takedown. And if that’s the case, then I suspect Bektic can pick up his seventh UFC win, probably by submission.

In a Flyweight tussle, Mayra Bueno Silva takes on Mara Romero Borella. This is probably the last chance saloon for Italy’s Borella, as she’s coming off a three-fight losing streak. So can she turn things around here?

I’m not convinced myself. Silva hasn’t shown a great deal in the UFC thus far and has far less experience than her opponent. But she was able to submit the tricky Gillian Robertson in her UFC debut, and that means she’s clearly talented. Borella is likely to go to the ground with her, and the Italian should find herself in trouble from there. Silva by submission is my pick.

In the men’s Flyweight division, talented athlete Jordan Espinosa faces David Dvorak. We’ve seen Czechia’s Dvorak in the UFC just once before – he took a clear-cut decision win over Bruno Silva. ‘The Undertaker’ thrives by pushing a reckless pace, throwing wild combinations of strikes, and mixing in his takedowns for good measure.

Espinosa has more UFC experience to his name. But based on what I’ve seen of him, I’m not convinced he can really survive the pace that Dvorak is likely to put on, particularly as he’s also willing to put himself in harm’s way to look for the win. Dvorak via decision is my pick.

At Bantamweight, Jessica-Rose Clark takes on Sarah Alpar. Australia’s Clark is a popular fighter thanks to a likable personality and a willingness to push the pace inside the cage. But she’s struggled somewhat in the UFC as of late, and hasn’t fought since last November. That fight saw her drop her return to Bantamweight to the larger Pannie Kianzad.

Alpar, meanwhile, is making her UFC debut after picking up a win last month on Dana White’s Contender Series. Clark is probably the more polished fighter here though, even if she’s smaller, is coming off a layoff, and has much less finishing ability. I like ‘Jessy Jess’ to win by decision here.

In another Bantamweight bout, Journey Newson faces Randy Costa. Fighting out of the Lauzon Brothers’ camp, Costa is massively inexperienced for a UFC fighter – just 5-1 in MMA overall. But he did look excellent in taking out Boston Salmon by first-round TKO last October.

Newson, on the other hand, has more experience but hasn’t really fought top-level opposition just yet. And in his UFC career, he has been beaten by Ricardo Ramos before seeing a win over Domingo Pilarte overturned due to a positive test for marijuana.

This should likely be a quick fight; both men come to finish and don’t really have the defensive skills to make this one last too long. It’s a toss-up, really, but I’m going to go with Costa via TKO.

Another fight at Bantamweight sees Andre Ewell take on Irwin Rivera. Ewell is a genuinely excellent fighter with outstanding all-round skills, although he has been beaten by a pair of high-level fighters in Nathaniel Wood and Marlon Vera during his UFC stint.

Rivera, on the other hand, is 1-1 in the UFC, and in all honesty, he hasn’t shown all that much to get excited over even if he looks like a solid enough hand. I think this one should be relatively exciting, but I like Ewell to outwork ‘The Beast’ for a decision.

At Featherweight, Darrick Minner takes on TJ Laramie. Minner came into the UFC earlier this year on late notice and was easily beaten by Grant Dawson, while Laramie is a high-level prospect from Canada who fought and won last month on Dana White’s Contender Series. Given Minner showed so little in his debut and Laramie has a couple of wins against tough veterans, I’m going to take him here via decision.

Finally, in a late-notice Bantamweight bout, Tyson Nam faces Jerome Rivera. A natural Flyweight, Nam was scheduled to fight Matt Schnell last week before the fight was called off due to a botched weight cut from Schnell. Rivera is also more suited to 125lbs, but the late notice probably explains the fight being at 135lbs. At any rate, I’m taking Nam here due to Rivera coming in on such late notice and Nam finally picking up his first UFC win earlier this year. Nam by TKO is my pick.