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411’s MMA Roundtable Preview – UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman
WELCOME:
The UFC makes its first visit to Chile for UFC Fight Night! In the main event, Kamaru Usman looks for his eighth consecutive UFC victory when he faces Demian Maia! In a strawweight co-main event, Alexa Grasso battles the unbeaten Tatiana Suarez. At light heavyweight, Jared Cannonier takes on Dominick Reyes. In bantamweight action, Diego Rivas takes on Guido Cannetti. Plus, Veronica Macedo vs. Andrea Lee, Vicente Luque vs. Chad Laprise, and more!
THE STAFF:
Preliminary Card
UFC Fight Pass
Lightweight Bout: Claudio Puelles vs. Felipe Silva
Bantamweight Bout: Henry Briones vs. Frankie Saenz
Featherweight Bout: Enrique Barzola vs. Brandon Davis
Fox Sports 2
Featherweight Bout: Gabriel Benitez vs. Humberto Bandenay
Strawweight Bout: Poliana Botelho vs. Syuri Kondo
Flyweight Bout: Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja
Welterweight Bout: Zak Cummings vs. Michel Prazeres
THE MAIN CARD:
Welterweight Bout: Vicente Luque vs. Chad Laprise
Robert Winfree: Vicente Luque, Decision
Dan Plunkett: Luque, KO, Round 1
Flyweight Bout: Veronica Macedo vs. Andrea Lee
Robert Winfree: Andrea Lee, TKO, Round 2
Dan Plunkett: Lee, Decision
Bantamweight Bout: Diego Rivas vs. Guido Cannetti
Robert Winfree: Not a whole lot to say here, both are potential prospects in the bantamweight division but both guys are also still very much in the development phase of their career. Either guy could win this, so I’ll mostly flip a coin here.
Winner: Diego Rivas, Decision
Dan Plunkett: Cannetti is 38 years old and fights infrequently. This will be his second fight of 2018; the last time he competed twice in the same calendar year was 2012. Rivas, 26, has also fought sparingly over the past few years. I like the younger fighter here.
Winner: Rivas, Decision
Light Heavyweight Bout: Jared Cannonier vs. Dominick Reyes
Robert Winfree: Dominick Reyes might be the last prospect for the light heavyweight division right now, it’s not a good division. Reyes is long, has solid fundamentals with his striking, and should be working on his overall game. Cannonier is a bit of a brawler, he’s very content to walk forward and attack but his defense is lacking and he tends to struggle against opponents who know how to move around the cage. I think Reyes takes this one and starts moving towards an official ranking.
Winner: Dominick Reyes, TKO, Round 2
Dan Plunkett: Reyes is 8-0 overall with two first round finishes in as many UFC bouts. He has only gone the distance once. Cannonier is a middle of the road light heavyweight that Reyes should get past here.
Winner: Reyes, TKO, Round 1
Strawweight Bout: Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez
Robert Winfree: This fight comes down to whether or not Grasso can reliably stop the takedowns of Suarez. On the feet Suarez is, to put it charitably, a work in progress while Grasso has fast accurate hands. On the mat Suarez has an advantage with her wrestling and overall grappling, so this is really just about where the fight takes place. I’m a little more confident in picking Suarez to force wrestling exchanges and take this than I am in Grasso’s ability to maintain distance and consistently punish her.
Winner: Tatiana Suarez, Decision
Dan Plunkett: Grasso’s shine has worn off a bit after a loss to Felice Herrig and a close win against Randa Markos (a fight in which Grasso missed weight by three pounds). Suarez is an excellent wrestler that carries an unbeaten 5-0 record (plus three wins on The Ultimate Fighter). I like Suarez’s wrestling to lead her to victory.
Winner: Suarez, Decision
Welterweight Bout: Demian Maia vs. Kamaru Usman
Robert Winfree: Props to Demian Maia for taking this on short notice, but I don’t care for his chances here. This most likely plays out like Maia vs. Covington, but since Usman can actually fight standing up in addition to an absolutely smothering top game I think Usman gets a big finish here.
Winner: Kamaru Usman, TKO, Round 1
Dan Plunkett: I don’t think we’re going to see 40-year-old Demian Maia have a ton of success against someone like Usman, who is an athletic talent in his prime. I suppose there are ways Maia can win—he can always do something on the ground—but I think he has a lot of trouble with Usman.
Winner: Usman, TKO, Round 3
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