UFC Fight Night 73: Saint Preux vs. Teixeira - Preview and Predictions

UFC NASHVILLE- On August 8, 2015 (Aug. 9 4:30 AM IST) UFC will put on a show in Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee. UFC is showcasing two Light Heavyweight fighters in the main event of a six-fight main card. Ovince Saint-Preux will face former title challenger Glover Teixeira and the winner will move one more step closer to claiming a shot on the belt. In the co-main event two top 10 Lightweight fighters Beneil Dariush and Michael Johnson will face to advance on their run towards a title shot. The card features many key fights, with a women’s showcase bout in McMann Vs Nunes which could very well put the winner in title contention.Here is our preview of the Main Card and predictions for the entire Card: - Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass, Sun, 4 A.M. IST)Scott Holtzman Defeats Anthony Christodoulou via KO/TKO. Marlon Vera Defeats Roman Salazar via submission.Chris Dempsey Defeats Jonathan Wilson via Decision. Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 2, Sun, 5:30 A.M. IST)Frankie Saenz Defeats Sirwan Kakai via Decision..Dustin Ortiz Defeats Willie Gates via Decision.Chris Camozzi Defeats Tom Watson via Decision.Uriah Hall Defeats Oluwale Bamgbose via TKO. Main Card (FOX Sports 1, Sun, 7:30 A.M. IST)

#1 Ray Borg vs. Geane Herrera

Borg will look to outclass Herrera on the ground

Two exciting flyweights will open the main card and we could be in for a treat with this fantastic matchup. Both fighters are excellent athletes and very good grapplers as well. Borg will enjoy a wrestling edge while Herrera has better striking. Expect the fight to be very fast paced with both trying to impose their will in every aspect of the game. We are in for a war for positional dominance in which I expect Borg to come out on top.

I fully expect Herrera to make this a fight as he is more technical on feet and better athlete, but I think Borg will take over the fight with his wrestling and grappling in later rounds. Borg, who is only 22, has won POTN bonuses in his last two fight and has the potential to submit Herrera, though I think this will end up in the hands of judges.

Prediction: Borg wins via Decision.

#2 Sara McMann vs. Amanda Nunes

Nunes will look to make a claim for a title shot

This is a hard match to predict as it is not clear where they actually are in their respective MMA careers. McMann, who often shows good striking and offensive wrestling looks really horrible when someone takes the fight to her, while Nunes, who look like a world beater in initial rounds just fades quickly in later rounds and tends to lose the important fights.

I fully expect Nunes to take the fight to McMann, who will look to take the fight on the ground as early as possible. Nunes is very powerful and a good striker who likes to overwhelm her opponents with her ferocious approach. McMann’s game is more simple - take the fight on the ground and control the top position, strike only if you can't get the fight on the ground. Though picking McMann via a decision is logical here, I am still unsure on McMann and her ability to respond to her oppositions aggression, thus I'll pick Nunes for the upset.

Prediction: Nunes wins via KO/TKO

#3 Timothy Johnson vs. Jared Rosholt

Rosholt will look to get one more win under his belt

This is by far my least favorite fight on this card. It has no business on the main card and they UFC has only put it because People like watching Heavyweight fighters. Rosholt is a wrestler and he will outwrestle Johnson for three rounds. Rosholt does leaves lot of openings to be hit but quickly turns to his wrestling to grind out a decision which is the weakness of most of these heavyweights. This is not going to be a technical brawl or even much fun to watch.

Prediction: Rosholt wins via Decision.

#4 Sam Alvey vs. Derek Brunson

Brunson will look to stop ‘Smiling’ Sam Alvey

Alvey has somehow managed to accumulate a few Knockouts in his last three UFC outings, but we are forgetting he got outclassed by Tom Watson in his UFC debut. Brunson is a big step up in competition for Alvey. Brunson is a good wrestler with decent boxing. He will look to take Alvey down and hold him there and outpoint the not-very-technical Alvey on the feet as well if he wishes to.

He will mix up his game to get the win, the only proposition that Alvey has in this fight is his knockout power and Brunson’s chin has betrayed him in the past, but only against very elite fighters like Ronaldo Souza and Yoel Romero who hit even harder than Alvey. Brunson has been very impressive lately, being up on the scorecards in the fight against Romero until he gassed in the third round and got knocked out. For me this is an easy pick to make

Prediction: Brunson wins via Decision.

#5 Beneil Dariush vs. Michael Johnson

MJ will try to make it look easy

This is probably the toughest fight to predict on the card as the strength of one fighter is the weakness of the other. This is one of the best stylistic matches in the UFC’s lightweight division. Johnson can be said to be the most improved lightweight fighter on the roster as he has put a string of strong performances in the octagon. He was very susceptible to submission for quite some time in his UFC career, submissions being the strength of Dariush, who is extremely dangerous on the ground.

For me Johnson is the more logical pick as he has not shown weakness in his ground game for some time and has beaten submission machine like Lauzon in his recent run while Dariush, who has shown tremendous improvements in his game since then got absolutely starched by Ramsey Nijem on the feet last year. Dariush, because of his improving striking has tendencies of trading shots with strikers which is a big concern in this fight while Johnson has been fighting smartly for some time now and will absolutely capitalise on it if he gets the opportunity.

Prediction: Jhonson wins via KO/TKO

#6 Ovince Saint-Preux vs. Glover Teixeira

Look for the trademark hand gestures of Preux after he wins

This is one of the better match ups in a weak UFC light heavyweight division, despite Teixeira coming off back to back losses and Preux coming off two back to back wins. Both of the fighters are powerful strikers who possess decent ground skills. Many people are counting Teixeira out because he looked horrible in his last outing against Phil Davis while Preux finished his last two fights in the very first round. But Teixera has the ability to finish this fight on the feet or the ground if his old self shows up.

This fight will come down to confidence, which is at an all time high for Preux while Teixeira is on a downside. Preux is fast, has an unorthodox style and can hit from awkward angles. He hits very hard and can KO any opponent if he connects well and Teixeira did show poor striking defense in his past two fights. OSP isn't very technical, but sure does have momentum on his side, making him my pick for this fight.

Prediction: Saint Preux wins via KO/TKO