UFC Fight Night 88 - Preview and Picks
UFC action returns on Sunday night live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. After the huge 45,000 seater stadium show in Brazil and a strong line of pay-per view events on the horizon, you could be mistaken for thinking this event could be somewhat of a dud. However this is anything from such.
The main event is arguably one the best bouts in all of mma between two of the hottest prospects in the game, Brazilian Thomas Almeida and American Cody Garbrandt. Often two prospects will be matched accordingly to allow the division to fill out and create a star from both, so to make a clash as mouth watering as this the UFC must be commended as a win here bolsters the victor to top 5 or top 10 of the rankings and probably only one fight away from title implications. The best part of this fight is I simply cannot separate either men in the contest. Almeida hails from the famous Chute Boxe gym in Brazil and is an aggressive combination striker. The 24 year-old is undefeated in all of his 21 fights with an impressive 20 stoppages in that time. While he was given the slow burner and took 17 fights to get the UFC call, Almeida has been non stop action since getting to the top tier. Almeia will walk you down from a muay thai stance, behind his strong jab and snapping leg kicks before he picks up his pace and unloads the combos with a variety of techniques. His defence and chin have been tested since his UFC debut, most notably against English veteran Brad Pickett, where Almeida survived the knockdown and onslaught in round one to stop Pickett with a huge jumping knee in the second, and all this took place on the undercard of McGregor vs Mendes so he will be used to the big show. His defence has lead to his weaknesses but they have improved rapidly since that fight and he showed it in his last outing before taking out Anthony Birchak at the close of the opening round.
Garbrandt is also 24 and hails from Team Alpha Male is California surrounded by teammates Uriah Faber and Chad Mendes. Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt is 8-0 with 7 KO’s and just the one decision. Making his UFC debut in only the fifth fight of his career, ‘No Love’ took out Marcus Brimage with a brutal tko before adding impressive wins over Henry Briones and jiu-jitsu ace Augusto Mendes. Garbrandt is a ferocious striker with long and short hooks. Unlike Almeida, ‘No Love’ will look to use foot movement before land his right hand counter and left hook to take you out. A KO win over Almeida would solidify him with power comparing to anyone in the bantamweight division.
I Just hope that both men are willing to stick to their own game plan and stand and trade, as little has been seen of their ground games which in a tight fight could be the swinging factor to sneak the rounds. Honestly, both guys have made huge improvements with each fight and have the potential to beat each other, and I simply am clutching at straws to pick a winner. I really feel it will be a case of whoever lands first. With a gun being held to my head… I see Almeida not being as slow to start as usual and taking Garbrandt out via KO.
The undercard has some more tasty bantamweight action with no. 4 ranked Alijamain Sterling taking on no. 8 ranked Bryan Carraway. This winner of this is more than likely in line to see themselves in a title fight in the final quarter of the year. Carraway is husband to UFC bantamweight womens champ Miesha Tate, and has shown massive improvements in his game since his stint on the Ultimate Fighter tv series. Carraway has very much a throwback fight style of grit and determination, grind you down and take the decision win. He is good in all areas of the sport but does not stand out as a killer in any area. This is against the strong aggressive wrestling of Sterling who packs a huge right hand for those who step in too quick. Sterling for me is a genuine title challenger and possibly champion. I see him having too much for Carraway on Sunday night.
The co-main event sees former bantamweight champ Renan Barao jump to featherweight after a dismal 2015 seeing him lose his rematch to T.J. Dillashaw in brutal fashion. Jeremy Stephens stands in his way. Stephens is the biggest 145er out there, having made most of his career at 155. This is going to be a huge jump for Barao going straight in with the biggest man in the division. Both have finished roughly 70% of their wins and possess KO power. While neither have title implications in the immediate future, with both having lost 3 of their last 4 fights, it is the perfect opportunity for both to regalvanize their careers and head back in the right direction. Picking Barao to claim a win here over Stephens, however it is not a done deal because if Stephens lands e could take the battle worn former champ out very easily.
Picks :
Thomas Almeida vs Cody Garbrandt - Almeida
Renan Barao vs Jeremy Stephens - Barao
Tarec Saffidiene vs Rick Story - Story
Chris Camozzi vs Vitor Miranda - Miranda
Jorge Masvidal vs Lorenz Larkin - Masvidal
Josh Burkman vs Paul Felder - Felder
Sara McMann vs Jessica Eye - Eye
Abel Trujillo vs Jordan Rinaldi - Trujillo
Jake Collier vs Alberto Uda - Collier
Eric Koch vs Shane Campbell - Campbell
Alijarmain Sterling vs Bryan Carraway - Sterling
Chris De La Rocha vs Adam Milstead - Milstead
