UFC Fight Night 179: Moraes vs. Sandhagen - Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims: UFC on ESPN+ card

The UK's Tom Breese is pegged to headline this weekend's UFC prelims.

As of the time of writing, the UFC will show seven preliminary fights on the ESPN+ streaming service this weekend. That may increase to eight if the promotion can find Thomas Almeida an opponent, but right now, that hasn't been confirmed.

At the top of the prelim card sits a Middleweight fight between Tom Breese and UFC newcomer KB Bhullar. Canada's Bhullar is bringing an undefeated 8-0 record into the UFC, but this is a very tricky debut fight for him.

The UK's Breese has struggled with injuries, but he's a very strong, technical fighter coming out of Firas Zahabi's Tri-Star camp. His jab acts as a ramrod, he's an aggressive striker, and he's also very dangerous on the ground. I simply can't see a debutant getting the better of him. Therefore, I'll take Breese to win a decision.

At Heavyweight, Chris Daukaus faces Rodrigo Nascimento. This should be a close fight, as neither man is what you'd call a "true" Heavyweight, but they both have some serious skills. Daukaus is more of a striker, but he's also capable on the ground, while Nascimento is definitely more of a grappler.

Overall, I'm leaning towards Nascimento here. He looks like the slightly better athlete, and if he can get Daukaus to the ground, I think he can secure a tap out.

In a Middleweight clash, Joaquin Buckley takes on Impa Kasanganay. A natural 170lber, Buckley has only fought in the UFC once – a knockout loss at the hands of Kevin Holland back in August. Kasanganay, meanwhile, won two fights on Dana White's Contender Series and then did well to out-point the tough Maki Pitolo in his own UFC debut.

This could be a close one to call due to Kasanganay largely lacking finishing skills, but his size and power will give him an advantage here, and so I think he'll take a decision.

At Bantamweight, Ali Al-Qaisi and Tony Kelley face off. Again, this one is probably a toss-up to call. Neither man showed all that much in their UFC debut, but nor were they outclassed either. Both men appeared to have solid all-round skills, but nothing to really make them stand out. Unfortunately, it's a forgettable fight, at least on paper. I'll take Kelley via decision.

In another Featherweight bout, Giga Chikadze faces Omar Morales. This one should be exciting as both men love to trade strikes and have multiple UFC wins to their name already. It's a close one to call, but Chikadze's more action-packed, aggressive style should be enough to edge him a tight win in what could be the Fight of the Night.

In the Women's Bantamweight division, Tracy Cortez takes on Stephanie Egger. Cortez made a strong UFC debut earlier in the year with a win over Vanessa Melo, and looks like a solid prospect to watch. Egger, meanwhile, is making her debut on relatively late notice here after putting together a solid 5-1 record on the regional circuit.

A former Featherweight, Egger should enjoy a size advantage here, but Cortez looks like the real deal to me and has some excellent skills. I'm taking Cortez via decision.

Finally, in a Flyweight tilt, Bruno Silva takes on Tagir Ulanbekov. This fight was supposed to go down on one of the UFC's cards at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, but travel restrictions forced it here. Interestingly, the fight was initially pegged to take place at 135lbs, but will now happen at Silva's more natural 125lbs.

Will that help 'Bulldog,' though? I personally doubt it. Ulanbekov looks like a seriously dangerous submission expert from Dagestan, and he appears to have powerful wrestling too. I'm taking Ulanbekov to pick up a submission in his UFC debut.