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411’s MMA Roundtable Preview – UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov

July 14, 2018 | Posted by Dan Plunkett
UFC Fight Night 133

WELCOME:
After a year on the shelf, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos returns to fight Blagoy Ivanov in the main event of UFC Fight Night! In the co-main event, Sage Northcutt aims to extend his win streak to three when he faces Zak Ottow. At featherweight, Dennis Bermudez takes on Rick Glenn. In welterweight action, Randy Brown fights Niko Price. Plus, Myles Jury squares off with Chad Mendes, Cat Zingano vs. Marion Reneau, and more!

THE STAFF:

  • He’s the juggernaut, Jonathan Solomon!

  • He’ll lock you in the guillotine, Robert Winfree!

  • He’s 411’s Jack of All Trades, Jeffrey Harris!

    Preliminary Card
    UFC Fight Pass
    Strawweight Bout: Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel
    Flyweight Bout: Mark De La Rosa vs. Elias Garcia
    Flyweight Bout: Liz Carmouche vs. Jennier Maia

    Fox Sports 1
    Featherweight Bout: Kurt Holobaugh vs. Raoni Barcelos
    Flyweight Bout: Justin Scoggins vs. Said Nurmagomedov
    Featherweight Bout: Darren Elkins vs. Alexander Volkanovski
    Bantamweight Bout: Eddie Wineland vs. Alejandro Perez


    THE MAIN CARD:
    Bantamweight Bout: Cat Zingano vs. Marion Reneau

    Jonathan Solomon: Marion Reneau, Decision
    Robert Winfree: Marion Reneau, Submission, Round 2
    Jeffrey Harris: Marion Reneau, Submission, Round 1
    The staff picks Marion Reneau, 3-0.


    Featherweight Bout: Myles Jury vs. Chad Mendes

    Jonathan Solomon: Myles Jury, TKO, Round 1
    Robert Winfree: Myles Jury, Decision
    Jeffrey Harris: Chad Mendes, Decision
    The staff picks Myles Jury, 2-1.


    Welterweight Bout: Randy Brown vs. Niko Price

    Jonathan Solomon: A pair of 28-year-old fighters, one is 10-2 and the other is 11-1. Brown, the former, controlled Mickey Gall last fall to take an easy decision. His most recent loss came in February 2017 when Belal Muhammad took the unanimous decision. Price has fought four times in the same timespan, winning three of those contests with finishes (one KO was overturned because he failed a drug test for marijuana). He fell to a D’Arce choke in October courtesy of Vicente Luque. An even match-up on paper, this is a total pick’em.

    Winner: Niko Price, Submission, Round 2

    Robert Winfree: This is a close fight on paper, Brown is long and tries to go for control in the clinch if he can’t maintain distance whereas Price goes for the gritty approach. I can see either man taking this and so will basically flip a coin here.

    Winner: Niko Price, Decision

    Jeffrey Harris: Both fighters have picked up some solid wins in the UFC recently. Randy Brown defeated Mickey Gall. Meanwhile, Niko Price has wins over Alan Jouban and George Sullivan. Overall, I like Niko Price to win this one. He’s more well-rounded, and he’s proven to be more of a finisher in the UFC. After a tough back-and-forth battle, I see Price finishing this one.

    Winner: Niko Price, Submission, Round 2

    The staff picks Niko Price, 2-1.


    Featherweight Bout: Dennis Bermudez vs. Rick Glenn

    Jonathan Solomon: Bermudez is only 31-years-old, but appears to be well into the twilight of his once promising career. He has not won a fight in nearly two years. He last saw action in January and lost a split decision to Andre Fili (his second consecutive loss by split decision). Enter Rick Glenn, who has been even-steven since jumping to the UFC in 2016. He is 2-2 since that time and lost to Myles Jury in his last go around. If Bermudez was in his prime, he’d be the considerable favorite. He still might be, but Glenn is no pushover. It’s been three years since Bermudez was able to win a fight before the third round, and that bodes well for Glenn who has been more consistent of late.

    Winner: Rick Glenn, Decision

    Robert Winfree: Dennis Bermudez’s UFC run is likely on it’s last legs, and what was once a promising career could be ready to move to a lesser organization. That said this is still a winnable fight for him, as Rick Glenn isn’t nearly the athlete that Bermudez is. Glenn is a grinder, he likes ugly fights where he can break your will down and smash you once you’ve given up mentally or your body simply can’t keep up. I’m not sure how Glenn will deal with a wrestle heavy offense, but we’re going to find out here. On the whole I’m leaning towards Bermudez but wouldn’t count Glenn out.

    Winner: Dennis Bermudez, Decision

    Jeffrey Harris: Dennis Bermudez has had a really up and down run in the UFC. He lost the Ultimate Fighter, but he later went on an impressive seven-fight winning streak before losing back-to-back fights. Then he won two in a row before going on a three-fight losing streak, so he really needs a win here to keep his spot on the roster. He faces former WSOF featherweight champion Rick Glenn, who has had a very uneventful run in the UFC going 2-2. Bermudez is at least an experienced veteran, and going down to the wrestling, I think he will utilize that to dominate Glenn and grind out a decision win.

    Winner: Dennis Bermudez, Decision

    The staff picks Dennis Bermudez, 2-1.


    Welterweight Bout: Sage Northcutt vs. Zak Ottow

    Jonathan Solomon: Ottow is 2-2 in his last four fights, fighting in a different country for each of those match-ups (Brazil, New Zealand, China and the U.S.). He most recently joined the ranks of fighters who have knocked out Mike Pyle. A year ago, he scored an upset decision win over Kiichi Kunimoto, though he was knocked out in China by Li Jingliang around Thanksgiving. Ottow actually was awarded his jiu-jitsu black belt after the win over Pyle and will take that pride into his fight with Northcutt. Sage is winless (0-2) as a welterweight but chose not to push himself through another disastrous weight cut to make 155-pounds. You are inclined to believe Northcutt will struggle yet again at welterweight against a strong grappler. His only shot may be to be aggressive early and seek to force Ottow’s hand in looking for a first round stoppage.

    Winner: Zak Ottow, Submission, Round 2

    Robert Winfree: So Sage Northcutt takes on another gritty, wrestling based power puncher who likes ugly and bloody fights. I think this goes for him about as well as that same basic match up did last time, unless Ottow has no understanding of footwork and gets run around the cage chasing Northcutt.

    Winner: Zak Ottow, Submission, Round 2

    Jeffrey Harris: Sage Northcutt is facing Zak Ottow, who is not a world beater. However, Sage Northcutt is far from a world beater either, despite the hype he gets from the UFC. Northcutt as a fighter clearly has some talent, but Ottow is a very tough veteran who can go the distance and take Northcutt into deep waters. This is probably a more dangerous fight for Northcutt than he’s expecting. I’m predicting Zak Ottow to get an upset.

    Winner: Zak Ottow, Submission, Round 3

    The staff picks Zak Ottow, 3-0.


    Heavyweight Bout: Junior dos Santos vs. Blagoy Ivanov

    Jonathan Solomon: JDS returns from his suspension, which was shot down in April when USADA determined he did not knowingly take banned substances (his supplement instead was tainted). We last saw him being obliterated in over two minutes by then-heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, that was the spring of 2017. Now 34-years-old with 23 pro fights under his belt, is dos Santos still a top contender? We should find out in this fight because Blagoy Ivanov is going to be a big test. A terrific judoka/Sambo fighter, he has been close to dominant fighting on the regional levels around the United States for the last six years, mostly in Bellator and then WSOF/PFL. His single loss came in 2014 when Alex Volkov choked him out to win a Bellator heavyweight tournament. I cannot be sure what we’ll see from JDS but I believe Ivanov will not go bust in his UFC debut (history says I may be a fool for thinking that).

    Winner: Blagoy Ivanov, KO, Round 1

    Robert Winfree: This is a very speculative pick on my part here, and based as much around career trajectory as anything else. Junior dos Santos is one of my favorite heavyweights, but I think the years and wars have taken their toll on him. He hasn’t looked the same since the trilogy with Cain Velasquez and that type of beating takes serious time off of your career. He is the best fighter Blagoy Ivanov has fought, but I think Ivanov is up for it. Ivanov is a grappler first and foremost but has well rounded skills and if dos Santos still hasn’t fixed his ring craft issues of backing all the way to the cage then predictably circling to his right with his hands low, Ivanov has a very clear opening to exploit. I’m going with Ivanov, but again it’s very speculative and this could easily be a case of too much too soon for him in the UFC.

    Winner: Blagoy Ivanov, TKO, Round 1

    Jeffrey Harris: The former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos faces the debuting Blagoy Ivanov, who previously fought in Bellator, WSOF, and PFL. The UFC has given Ivanov a pretty big fight right off the bat against Cigano, who is returning after his USADA issues. Ivanov is 16-1 and has a strong Combat Sambo background. It’s hard to quantify how this fight will go. JDS hasn’t fought in over a year. His best days are clearly behind him. However, while JDS is likely past his prime as a top UFC heavyweight, I still think he’s strong enough to likely beat a fighter like Ivanov, who is getting a pretty big name for his first UFC fight. Either way, this is a heck of a test for Ivanov in his UFC debut. I’m leaning toward JDS here, but a strong showing from Ivanov wouldn’t surprise me.

    Winner: Junior dos Santos, Decision

    The staff picks Blagoy Ivanov, 2-1.


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