UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Teixeira - Predictions and Picks

#6 The Prelims: ESPN+ card

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will headline Wednesday night's prelim card

Wednesday's preliminary fights are likely to be shown in full on the ESPN+ streaming service, and they're actually pretty strong on paper.

At the top of the card is an intriguing Heavyweight clash between former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski and rising contender Philipe Lins. Arlovski had a strange 2019; he rolled back the years and looked fantastic in his win over Ben Rothwell, but was then KO'd for the first time since 2017 when he basically ran onto a shot from Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Lins isn't the clean striker that Rozenstruik is, but he's extremely tough and has a good recent record, winning the 2018 PFL Heavyweight tournament, for instance, with a bunch of wins over UFC veterans. However, he's somewhat plodding and has been stopped on three occasions in the past, all by fighters who aren't on Arlovski's level even today.

Arlovski could certainly find himself in trouble with the punching power of 'Monstro' here, but I suspect he'll be a little too quick for the plodding Brazilian and do enough to edge a decision.

At Lightweight, Michael Johnson squares off with Thiago Moises. This should be a classic striker vs. grappler match, as Johnson's a fleet-footed striker with plenty of power while Moises is almost purely a BJJ player.

Johnson hasn't been on the best run as of late – 2-5 since 2016 – but stylistically, he matches well with Moises as he hasn't got bad takedown defense while Moises' striking defense hasn't looked great in the past. I'll take Johnson via stoppage in this one.

Sijara Eubanks and Sarah Moras face off at Bantamweight in a fight that was initially pegged for the April version of UFC 249. I predicted Eubanks to win a decision when I previewed that show, figuring her grappling skill and athleticism could pull her through, and I see no reason to change that prediction here.

At Bantamweight, Hunter Azure faces Brian Kelleher. Kelleher looked like a fighter to watch a while back after he beat the likes of Iuri Alcantara and Renan Barao, but his losses to John Lineker and Montel Jackson took the sheen off him a little. Azure meanwhile debuted with a decent win over Brad Katona, showing himself to be a confident striker more than a grappler.

With that said, Kelleher hits extremely hard for a 135lber and is also capable of latching onto submissions given the chance, so I like him in this one, probably by TKO.

At Heavyweight, debutant Isaac Villanueva faces off with the returning Chase Sherman. Both men have similar records, although Sherman obviously has far more experience at this level.

I'd expect a relatively close – if sloppy – fight between these two strikers, and if Sherman's chin can hold up to the power of Villanueva, I'm happy to pick him to get a win upon his Octagon return, most likely by decision.

Finally, at Lightweight, Mexico's Gabriel Benitez faces Omar Ferrer. This will be Benitez's first foray into the 155lbs division after some strong success at 145lbs, while the unbeaten Ferrer is coming off a win over Dong Hyun Ma last December.

How Benitez will handle the move up in weight is a question mark given he didn't appear to be the biggest Featherweight, but I'm taking him via decision due to his massive UFC experience.