UFC Fight Night 65 - Adelaide: Preview and Predictons

UFC Fight Night Adelaide posterThe UFC goes down under once again this time with UFC Fight Night 65, with a host of stars ready to put on a show in Adelaide on May 9th. The draw features top fighters with the match between the heavy hitting “The Super Samoan “ Mark Hunt and the gritty Stipe Miocic headlining the event, with a win for either putting them into UFC Heavyweight title contention.UFC Fight Night 65 will also feature former Ultimate Fighter winner Robert Whittaker against veteran Brad Tavares, and also a showdown between two undefeated and talented lightweights Jake Matthews and James Vick.Here is all the pre-fight analysis of the main card and guide to the event.Main Card :Mark Hunt vs Stipe Miocic (Main Event)Brad Tavares vs. Robert WhittakerSean O’connell vs Antony PerroshJake Matthews vs James Vick

#1 Jake Matthews (8-0-0) vs James Vick (7-0-0)

One of the most promising fighters in the UFC today local boy Jake Matthews will find his toughest test to date when he takes on American James Vick. Both men who are undefeated are are coming off of impressive wins with Matthews victory over Vagner Rocha coming by way of a rear naked choke and James Vick getting the better of Nick Hein by way of a Unanimous Decision. A win for either of them would help them extremely in getting into lightweight stardom.

Vick who looks massive for a lightweight(6’3”) is very aggressive, has one hell of a chin and has the reach advantage over Mathews but he is a careless fighter, stands most of the time with his arms down, has taken more volume of punches per round than his competitor. Jake Matthews, on the other hand, has good power in his hands, throws more volume of punches than his competitor and is more accurate at landing them as well but Vick’s 6’3” frame will be a test to Mathews reach in landing those strikes.

Matthews will look for the early takedown, he is a better wrestler than Vick. Vick will have the height advantage again as he would find it not so difficult to defend the take-downs. Take the case of submission, both men have scored victories by submission in the near past , Jake Mathews is excellent at making people tap by the rear naked choke, all of his 3 submission victories have come by the rear naked choke. Vick isn’t bad either, his victory over Ramsy Nijem came by way of a Guillotine Choke.

Prediction: Jake Matthews by Unanimous Decision.

#2 Anthony Perrosh (15-8-0) vs Sean O\'Connell (16-6-0)

The typical case of a submission artist vs brawler match. At 42 Antony Perrosh is on a good run, he is 5-2 in his last seven fights with his last over Guto Inocente at UFC Fight Night 55 coming by way of submission. A win here would mean he would creep into the top 15 in the light heavyweight division .O’connell on the other hand had a victory over Matt Van Buren at UFC Fight Night 59 in his last fight which helped him ease the pressure which was created due to two consecutive losses prior to that.

Perrosh and O’Connell are miles apart in their approach towards the standup game. Perrosh always looks for the takedown, never comfortable in the stand and deliver approach. He has shown that he can pack a punch with his knock-out victory over Vinny Maghales at UFC 163.O’Connell, on the other hand, is very basic, wants to stay on his feet, trade punches. He has good knock-out power as well. His significant strike landed per minute is high, a very aggressive fighter who absorbs a lot of punches as well.

As both were poles apart in their approach to the standing game, the same is the case for takedowns as well. Perrosh’s main asset is his takedowns. O’Connell, on the other hand, would be training hard to improve his ground game especially his take-down defense. At 42 years of age, Perrosh has a chance if he gets O’connell to the mat early otherwise as the match passes on, O'Connell's stamina advantage will take over and can lead to a late TKO.

Prediction : O’Connell by TKO

#3 THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Brad Tavares (13-4-0) vs Robert Whittaker (14-4-0) :

An interesting match up where both of the guys fighting has near similar styles. Brad Tavares was having a good run with 5 straight wins but two consecutive losses have shortened his surge in the middleweight division, he bounced back with a win over Nate Marquardt at UFC 183 and will continue to keep the momentum going. Local boy Whittaker only made the jump to middleweight from welterweight in his last match against Clint Hester at UFC Fight Night 55 and this is by far his biggest test.

Tavares is an average puncher, lacks the one punch knockout power in his strikes, however his punches are clean and accurate . His defense is pretty good, possesses excellent cardio which can be of an advantage when going into the later rounds. Whittaker is much more aggressive than Tavares, has got speed and is good at counter punching. He is excellent at delivering kicks from a distance and has good punch kick combinations as well.

Tavares times his takedowns well, he is good near the fence and has a good takedown defense as well. Whittaker is good at offensive grappling and has good positional sense too. Whittaker has the slight advantage on the stand up game, if the match goes into later rounds Tavares will have the advantage due to his stamina, Whittaker needs to be careful while near the fence due to Tavares takedown ability near the fence.

Prediction : Tavares by Unanimous Decision

#4 Stipe Miocic (12-2-0) vs. Mark Hunt (10-9-1)

The main event features two hard hitters with a win for either putting him into heavyweight title contention. Both are coming off losses in their respective last matches with Hunt losing to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180 and Miocic losing a hard fought match against former champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC on Fox 13.

Mark hunt is one of the hardest hitters in the UFC, there is no point in trading punches with him in centre of the octagon. What is more to him than his power is his ability to change his punch speed at will, has good leg kicks too. He also has the ability to absorb a lot of punishment as well. Stipe does have good power in his hands but what sets him apart from hunt in the stand-up game is his speed and movement.

Miocic will try to bring the match to the ground, he is better at takedowns than Hunt, the guy has an average take down of 1.7 per match compared to Hunt’s 0.8. Hunt will try to keep the match standing up, his best chance of winning, Miocic has a far better chance of winning the match on the ground compared to standing up , he will be looking for the take down early in the fight.

Prediction: HUNT BY TKO