[THE_LOCKSMITH]

ESPN+ 9:00 pm ET
Amanda Lemos vs. Jessica Andrade
Alexandr Romanov vs. Chase Sherman
Clay Guida vs. Claudio Puelles
Maycee Barber vs. Montana De La Rosa
Manel Kape vs. Su Mudaerji
Charles Jourdain vs. Lando Vannata

ESPN+ 6:00 pm ET
Evander Elder vs Preston Parsons
Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Jordan Wright
Dwight Grant vs. Sergey Khandozhko
Tyson Pedro vs. Ike Villanueva
Cameron Else vs. Aori Qileng
Philipe Lins vs. Marcin Prachnio
Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson

[JIBBBY]

Weak main card in my opinion but I will still be betting it. Prelims seem to have better fights lined up.

I guess I just hate chicks fighting in the main events..

[JIBBBY]

Prelim write ups -





205 lbs.: Tyson Pedro vs. Ike Villanueva

Tyson Pedro (7-3) burst onto the UFC scene with dominant first round finishes of Khalil Rountree and Paul Craig in his first two Octagon bouts. Subsequent sailing proved less smooth, dropping three of his next four and suffering two stoppages along the way.
He fights for the first time in more than three years because of injury.
Ike Villanueva (18-13) punched his ticket to the Octagon by scoring four consecutive first round knockouts, including finishes of UFC veterans Roger Narvaez and Rashad Coulter. He’s since struggled to find his footing in the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, entering this Saturday’s bout with knockout losses in four of his last five fights.
All but three of his professional victories have come via (technical) knockout.
Pedro may have hit his ceiling a lot earlier than we anticipated, but said ceiling is still a damn sight higher than Villanueva’s. “Hurricane’s” only UFC victory came over the hilariously inept Vinicius Moreira, and even then he took longer to fell “Mamute” than any of the Brazilian’s other three UFC conquerors. Whether on the ground or the feet, the Pedro of 2018 figures to have an easy time of it.
There’s obviously the question of whether that Pedro still exists after multiple knee surgeries and three years on the sidelines, but I’m not sure there’s any amount of rust that could drop him below Villanueva’s level. I short, Pedro returns to the win column via quick mauling.
Prediction: Pedro via first round technical knockout
Related
Up Next! Lemos Battles Andrade In Vegas!


125 lbs.: Aoriqileng vs. Cameron Else

Aoriqileng (18-9) put together a career-long, six-fight win streak to land a spot in UFC. Though he’s yet to taste victory since, he did take home “Fight of the Night” for his debut slugfest with Jeff Molina.
“The Mongolian Murderer” gives up two inches of height and reach to “Camchida.”
Cameron Else (10-5) — who owns a 2013 submission win over Paddy Pimblett — rode six consecutive first-round finishes into UFC. Debut foe Kyler Phillips proved a tougher nut to crack, knocking out Else with elbows early in the second.
This marks his first appearance in 18 months.
If Aoriqileng was ever going to beat someone in the Octagon, it’s Else. “Camchida” hasn’t beaten a competent foe since the aforementioned Pimblett and is nowhere near as adept a striker as his moniker would suggest. Indeed, Aoriqileng’s usual death march approach should work wonders here, and he’s got a decent wrestling game to back it up.
Else’s best chances are to either keep his relentless foe at range for the full 15 minutes or bully him into a panic shot so Else can use his front choke series. Neither seems likelier than Aoriqileng walking him down and battering him with power punches until the referee on duty intervenes.
Prediction: Aoriqileng via second round technical knockout

205 lbs.: Marcin Prachnio vs. Philipe Lins

Three consecutive first-round knockout losses left Marcin Prachnio’s (15-5) UFC career teetering on the brink. He came up clutch, however, beating both Khalil Rountree and Ike Villanueva while picking up a post-fight bonus along the way.
He has knocked out 11 professional opponents and submitted one other.
Though his Bellator run ended poorly, Philipe Lins (14-5) enjoyed plenty of success in the PFL cage en route to the Octagon. The same can’t be said about his time in UFC proper, as “Monstro” has dropped consecutive bouts to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser.
This will be his first fight in nearly two years, as six separate match ups fell through in the interim.
This is a deeply unfriendly match up for would-be prognosticators. Beyond Lins’ layoff and the fact that he’s making his first cut to 205 pounds — which I still say is a terrible idea — both men are incredibly fragile — a stray shot could end things at just about any moment.
Even with all the intangibles working against him, I think I have to take Lins. Outside of Magomed Ankalaev, Prachnio’s UFC defeats came against far lesser opposition than “Monstro’s,” and the Pole got badly hurt even in his wins. I’ll risk the foot in my mouth and say Lins clips him with a punch early on.
Prediction: Lins via first round technical knockout

170 lbs.: Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson

Undaunted by a shock upset loss to Anthony Taylor, Dean Barry (4-1) rattled off a pair of quick finishes to earn a shot in the Octagon. When initial debut plans fell through, “The Sniper” stayed busy in Dec. 2021 with a 21-second wipeout under the Titan FC banner.
All four of his wins have come by first round knockout.
Mike Jackson’s (0-1) audition to welcome C.M. Punk to the Octagon ended in 45 seconds courtesy of a Mickey Gall rear-naked choke. “The Truth” did eventually get his chance to face Punk, but though he emerged victorious via unanimous decision, a failed drug test struck the win from the record.
This marks his first appearance in nearly four years.
Jackson is an excellent photographer. He is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a UFC-worthy fighter. Barry has his fair share of issues — namely a seriously underdeveloped ground game — but Jackson isn’t equipped to exploit any of them.
All “The Truth” has is an okay striking game, and Barry’s blows his out of the water. It’s hard to picture any outcome other than Barry torching him in the first few minutes.
Prediction: Barry via first round technical knockout




170 lbs.: Louis Cosce vs. Preston Parsons

Louis Cosce (7-1) joined brother Orion in the Octagon by smashing Victor Reyna in 72 seconds on Contender Series. He looked poised for another quick finish in his “Fight of the Night” Octagon debut, but ran out of steam and suffered a technical knockout loss to Sasha Palatnikov.
Saturday’s fight ends a 17-month layoff for “The Monster.”
Preston Parsons (9-3) put a submission loss to Valdir Araujo behind him to rattle off a four-fight win streak, then stepped up on short notice to fight Daniel Rodriguez in his Octagon debut. The momentum wasn’t to last, as “Pressure” succumbed to “D-Rod’s” power late in the first round.
All of his professional wins have come by submission, eight of them in the first round.
The real question here is how much weight I give potential. Between his physicality, wrestling background and punching power, Cosce looks like he should be, well, a “Monster.” Indeed, my first instinct is to brush off that loss to Palatnikov as the product of overeagerness. At the same time, it’s hard to overlook the fact that he couldn’t consistently out-wrestle Palatnikov, who got manhandled and submitted his next two times out. He didn’t show much stand up beyond aggressive brawling, either, while Parsons was holding his own against Rodriguez before taking damage to his eye.
I think I have to go with Parsons. Unless Cosce’s improved massively since that debacle, I don’t trust his grappling or technical striking to hold up against the more battle-tested “Pressure.” In the end, Parsons survives a rough start to drag down Cosce and tap him out.
Prediction: Parsons via second round submission
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190 lbs.: Jordan Wright vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Though Jordan Wright (12-2) fell short on Contender Series, he made the most of a late-notice UFC debut, stopping Ike Villanueva in just 91 seconds. He’s 1-2 since, most recently falling to Brazilian knockout artist Bruno Silva in Dec. 2021.
“Beverly Hills Ninja” has ended 11 of 12 victories inside of one round.
After starting his UFC career 0-3 (1 NC), Marc-Andre Barriault (13-5) finally secured his first Octagon win streak with victories over Abu Azaitar and Dalcha Lungiambula. This set up a bout with Contender Series graduate, Chidi Njokuani, who handed “Power Bar” the first stoppage loss of his career.
He steps in for Roman Kopylov on less than two weeks’ notice.
This is really a question of whether that Njokuani loss broke Barriault’s chin for good. If he just got clipped by a perfect shot, it’s his fight to lose, as Wright is far too fragile to hold up in a protracted slugfest. If that durability’s gone, however, it’s easy to picture “Power Bar” crumpling from Wright’s usual blitz.
I’ll be an optimist. He’ll have more trouble with Wright than the much more technically adept Kopylov would have, but he’ll still manage to weather the storm and club Wright into submission late in the first frame.
Prediction: Barriault via first round technical knockout
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170 lbs.: Dwight Grant vs. Sergey Khandozhko

After graduating from Contender Series in 2018, Dwight Grant (11-4) enjoyed a 3-2 Octagon start, most notably leveling Carlo Pedersoli to earn “Performance of the Night.” Then came Francisco Trinaldo, who narrowly edged Grant out in the fourth split decision of “The Body Snatcher’s” UFC tenure.
He boasts a two-inch reach advantage over “Honda.”
ACB veteran Sergey Khandozhko (27-6-1) started his UFC career off right with a decision over then-unbeaten Rostem Akman. He then welcomed Rustam Khabilov to the Welterweight division after a long run at 155 pounds, ultimately losing a unanimous decision.
Injury, COVID and other issues made this his first fight since 2019.
Grant’s fights are always an absolute pain to pick. All those split decisions aren’t a coincidence — he combines lethargic output with huge, overdramatic swings that rarely connect, often resulting in staring matches. Khandozhko also hasn’t fought in almost 30 months, adding an extra layer of uncertainty.
I suppose if there’s one thing I can trust Khandozhko to do, it’s be aggressive. He landed more significant strikes in the Akman fight than Grant has ever managed in a 15-minute stretch. He’s also a full eight years younger than Grant, and though he’s had issues with his defensive wrestling before, Grant only rarely leans on takedowns. In short, he out-works “The Body Snatcher” to secure a narrow decision win.
Prediction: Khandozhko via split decision

[hankcream]

How in the hell are guys like Chase Sherman, Ike Villaneauva, and Mike Jackson still getting paid by the UFC? If you parlay Barry, Pedro & Romanov it's still -360

[JIBBBY]

How in the hell are guys like Chase Sherman, Ike Villaneauva, and Mike Jackson still getting paid by the UFC? If you parlay Barry, Pedro & Romanov it's still -360

Like I said it's kind of a weak card. Bunch of old guys and cans fighting.

[hankcream]

At least these 2 dudes in the main event should put on a more exciting fight than Luque and Belal had last week. For 115 lbs these guys throw some pretty powerful shots.

[JIBBBY]

At least these 2 dudes in the main event should put on a more exciting fight than Luque and Belal had last week. For 115 lbs these guys throw some pretty powerful shots.

They do look like dudes. Lol..

[JC2008]

Like I said it's kind of a weak card. Bunch of old guys and cans fighting.

Luckily there's a Bellator tonight and tomorrow at least.

[JIBBBY]

Luckily there's a Bellator tonight and tomorrow at least.

Tonight's action starts in an hour. Decent fighter predictions here. https://combatpress.com/2022/04/bell...d-predictions/

[cankid]

How in the hell are guys like Chase Sherman, Ike Villaneauva, and Mike Jackson still getting paid by the UFC? If you parlay Barry, Pedro & Romanov it's still -360

lol, enjoy the action this weekend

[hankcream]

Damn it I had 6 units on Kape -145 & the fight gets canceled because he tests positive for some bullshat.
I always regret betting female fights but f it
6 units Maycee Barber -175

[Merlin21]

This Parson - Elder fight is a great fight... Both great all around with Parson edging him in the wrestling department.... Let's see if he can last... Putting Elder on the list for future pick

[hankcream]

BetOnLine is getting as bad as the US books. They gave me an odds booster of Andrade inside the distance for +250 but they limited it to $25.

[Kermit]

Need the Beverly Hills Ninja fight to not go the distance.

[Kermit]

Jordan Wright, what a bum.

[hankcream]

Hitting the old bastard Guida for 2 units -120

[hankcream]

Lesson learned again, never bet on a 40 year old MMA fighter

[hankcream]

Jessica Andrade has an OnlyFans page. Who in the hell is paying to see her bent over with her little titties espoused.

[Brandt Moat]

Agree. Was wanting to wager on Kopylov vs Wright. Not sure why he was pulled. Didn't have much interest in the card. I'm losing interest in the sport.

Jordan Wright, what a bum.

[JIBBBY]

That was the weakest main event I've ever seen. Quick standing choke. LOL. Chick fights..

[Thrilla]

How in the hell are guys like Chase Sherman, Ike Villaneauva, and Mike Jackson still getting paid by the UFC? If you parlay Barry, Pedro & Romanov it's still -360

Mike Jackson won. lol

+900 dog

[Thrilla]

Maycee Barber

[Thrilla]

^ Maycee Barber I've been promoting her for weeks

Your loss if you passed on those , not my problem