UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos: Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims: ESPN card

Hard hitter Eryk Anders is headlining this weekend's prelim card

All of Saturday’s preliminary fights are scheduled for ESPN as well, meaning fans won’t have to switch channels if they want to watch the entire card.

Headlining the prelims are Light-Heavyweights Eryk Anders and Vinicius Moreira. Moreira is a grappling specialist but I worry for his chances here; Anders is still very raw, but if nothing else he hits incredibly hard and has some solid takedown defense, too. Anders by TKO is my pick.

At Lightweight, Jared Gordon takes on Dan Moret in a somewhat tricky fight to pick given both men have lost their last two fights and neither has really looked great in the process. Gordon at least has a win over a strong fighter in Hacran Dias, so I’ll take him to win a decision.

Justin Ledet returns at 205lbs to take on newcomer Dalcha Lungiambula, a South African fighter who if nothing else looks physically powerful. His footage shows a fighter who’s massively raw, though – very strong but very sloppy, too. Ledet is the more technical striker and with his UFC experience I’ll take him to win a decision, but a win from Lungiambula would probably be more entertaining.

Strawweights Emily Whitmire and Amanda Ribas clash, with Ribas making her UFC debut. Ribas looks like a solid enough prospect but Whitmire has much more experience in the UFC – 3 fights there with 2 wins in a row – and so I’ll take her to grind out a win probably by decision.

At Heavyweight, Maurice Greene faces off with Junior Albini in what could turn out to be a super-sloppy fight. Albini might be on a 3-fight losing streak but he’s been facing pretty good opponents, while Greene to me is just too slow to really make an impact in the UFC. Albini via TKO is my pick.

Newcomer Journey Newson steps in on late notice at 135lbs to take on Ricardo Ramos and despite Ramos losing his last fight, I can’t see him having any issues here – he’s still a very dangerous prospect and Newson hasn’t fought anyone nearly as good before. I like Ramos via TKO.

Finally at Featherweight Jordan Griffin faces newcomer Vince Murdock, who’s taken the fight on just over two weeks’ notice. Griffin didn’t look great in his UFC debut – a loss to Dan Ige – but due to the late notice for Murdock as well as the fact that he’s lost his last two, I’m taking Griffin via TKO here.