Middleweight Bout: Sean Strickland (23-3) vs. Uriah Hall (17-9)
Luke Irwin: Hall’s last four fights: Defeated a fighter who is no longer in the UFC after being released, a split-decision with Antonio Carlos Junior which really could have gone either way, defeating the corpse of Anderson Silva, and the Chris Weidman incident that we do not speak of. Strickland is more consistent and is climbing the ladder of opponents and quality wins. Strickland via UD.
Bantamweight Bout: Kyung Ho Kang (17-8) vs. Rani Yahya (27-10-1)
Luke: In a battle of two submission specialists, we rarely get the grappling, reversal, scramble clinic that we hope for. It usually tends to devolve into a boring kickboxing bout with neither party willing to go for anything that can put them in a less than advantageous position. In this case, I like Kang’s striking much better. Kang via UD.
Women’s Strawweight Bout: Cheyanne Buys (5-2) vs. Gloria de Paula (5-3)
Luke: These are two very evenly-matched fighters, even records, even competition. de Paula has more power, but Buys is more well-rounded. Buys via SD.
Welterweight Bout: Jared Gooden (17-6) vs. Niklas Stolze (12-4)
Luke: Props to Gooden for stepping in on short notice, but he hasn’t shown much that he’s UFC-ready. Neither has Stolze either, but I like Stolze’s skillset better. Stolze via UD.
Welterweight Bout: Bryan Barberena (15-7) vs. Jason Witt (18-7)
Luke: Barberena lives and dies by punches, compared to Witt, who mostly just dies by them. Barberena via R1 TKO.
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