UFC Fight Night 172 Main Card Preview

UFC Fight Night 172 Main Card Preview

By Scott Reichel

Marlon Vera vs. Song Yadong

Marlon “Chito” Veraenters the Octagon in great form as he is in the midst of a five-five winning streak. In addition, all of those victories have come via stoppage so he has been able to win convincingly without the assistance of the scorecards. However, his opponent for this fight is definitely a step up in competition so one has to wonder if Vera will be able to continue dominating or if he will struggle a bit more against quality opposition.

Despite being just 22 years old, Song “Kung Fu Monkey” Yadong enters this fight with an impressive résumé. Yadong has won 15 of his first 19 fights while not suffering a defeat since 2016. However, he also enters this loss off of an underwhelming performance as he was forced to settle for a draw against Cody Stamann. Now, Yadong will be looking to move up the rankings while also extending his undefeated streak.

I think that this fight should be extremely close for all 15 minutes as both fighters specialize in different areas. Vera is very solid on the ground while Yadong possesses a ton of power in his strikes so this fight should come down to whether or not Vera can take this fight to the ground. However, I think that Yadong is the slightly better fighter as a whole so I have no choice but to take the favorite in this matchup.

Prediction: Song Yadong Via Decision (+180 Fanduel)

Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko

Eryk “Ya Boi” Anders has had a pretty interesting path to the UFC. After originally signing a contract with the Cleveland Browns, Anders’ football career never panned out and he decided to turn his attention towards MMA instead. Since then, he has been very successful as he has won 13 of his first 17 career fights. In addition, Anders has won each of his last two fights so he will be looking to extend this winning streak with another quality performance on Saturday.

Krzysztof Jotko has been extremely successful up to this point in his MMA career. With victories in 21 of his first 25 fights, Jotko could see his name climb up the ranks very soon if he continues to take care of business in the Octagon. Similarly to his opponent, he is also in the middle of a two-fight winning streak and he will be looking to continue his winning ways as the favorite in this matchup.

Simply put, I think that this fight will end in one of two ways. Either Anders will win by knockout or Jotko will win by decision. It is worth mentioning that Jotko has an absurd 14-1 record in decisions so I expect Anders to do whatever he can to avoid getting the judges involved in this outcome. While Jotko via decision is probably the safer play, I do not think that there is much value with that option so I will be looking elsewhere for this fight.

Prediction: Eryk Anders Via KO (+320 FoxBet)

Edson Barboza vs. Dan Ige

Edson Barboza is well-known around the UFC for his elite level striking. His leg kicks have made opposing fighters quiver in fear for a long time and he should be able to do more damage now that he is moving down a weight class. This move seems smart as he enters this fight in the midst of a slump having lost four of his last five fights. Now, Barboza will be looking to use his reach advantage in this contest to inflict a lot of damage in the standup en route to another UFC victory.

Dan “Dynamite” Ige has been a very underrated fighter ever since he joined the UFC in 2018. After losing his UFC debut to Julio Arce, Ige has won each of his last five fights with three of those victories coming via decision. Now, he should have his hands full against an elite striker on Saturday. However, Ige will most likely counter by using his superior wrestling skills in order to neutralize Barboza’s effectiveness on the feet.

This fight should be very close due to the conflicting fight styles. Barboza is going to keep his distance by using his Taekwondo to keep Ige on the outside. However, Ige has significantly more experience at this weight so I am a bit concerned that Barboza might struggle in his first career fight at featherweight. Therefore, I do not think that Ige should be this big of an underdog which makes him a quality option in this bout.

Prediction: Dan Ige Via Decision (+210 Fanduel)

Claudia Gadelha vs. Angela Hill

Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha has had a very successful career up to this point in the UFC. Gadelha has won 17 of her first 21 career fights with all four losses coming via decision. However, she also enters this fight in average form as she has only won three of her last five fights. Now, Gadelha will be looking for a solid performance that could potentially get her back into the mix for her first title shot since 2016.

Angela “Overkill” Hill has been performing very well lately inside the Octagon. Hill has won each of her last three fights with only two of those victories coming via stoppage. However, this will most likely be the toughest opponent that she has ever had to face in her career so one has to wonder if she is truly up to the challenge on Saturday. Luckily for her, she should have an advantage in the standup department for this matchup so a victory here does not seem too far-fetched.

Even though Hill has looked much sharper lately, Gadelha has been a consistently solid fighter throughout her entire career and I think that she should be able to do enough in order to get the victory here. It is also worth mentioning that 12 of Hill’s 19 career fights have gone to a decision while 12 of Gadelha’s 21 career fights have gone to a decision so I would be shocked to see this fight end via stoppage.

Prediction: Claudia Gadelha Via Decision (+100 FoxBet)

Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris

Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem has been fighting for a long period of time. It is not too often that you see someone with over 60 career MMA fights under his/her belt but Overeem has been a force in this sport for a long time. So much so that he is still headlining fight cards at the age of 39. However, he is not nearly as dominant as he once was and he enters this fight having lost three of his last five. To make matters worse, he was actually winning his last fight before getting knocked out by Jairzinho Rozenstruik with just four seconds left in the final round. Now, he will be looking to get back on track with retirement creeping closer and closer.

Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris has had to deal with a ton of adversity over this past year. After winning each of his last two fights in just 62 seconds combined, Harris looked ready to take the next leap in the division. However, tragedy struck as his stepdaughter was kidnapped and murdered last November. As a result, Harris decided to take some time off from mixed martial arts in order to mourn and he finally feels as though he is ready to return to action. One cannot be certain that he will look as sharp as he did roughly one year ago but one can expect Harris to be filled with emotion before and after the fight.

Regardless of betting, I am personally rooting for Harris in this contest. I hope that no one else will ever have to endure the suffering that he has had to deal with over this past year and I see Harris as an inspirational figure for returning to the Octagon for the sake of mixed martial arts fans around the world. Having said all that, I also think that this is a good matchup for Harris. He has some vicious power in the standup game and Overeem’s chin has been getting progressively weaker with age so I can see some fireworks happening within the first 15 minutes of this fight.

Prediction: Walt Harris To Win In Rounds 1-3 (+275 FoxBet)