What?: The Ultimate Fighting Championship continue operating at levels very few sports have been able to replicate, with high profile and exciting fights at a time the rest of the world is struggling with a battle for rights and an ongoing pandemic.
When and how? On Saturday 27th/Sunday the 28th of June, in the United Kingdom, the preliminary fights will be live on BT Sport 1 from 11pm until 1am with the main card commencing from 1am running until between 4.30-5.00am.
Why?: Former Lightweight Interim Champion Dustin Poirier returns to the Octagon following a long lay off extending back to September 2019 to face a hungry and exciting Kiwi in Dan Hooker. Meanwhile, in what will be a first for the sport – Mike Perry will be cornered by none other than his girlfriend and no one else as he battles Mickey Gall a man who humbled former WWE Superstar CM Punk in his first UFC fight.
Highlighted Prelim Bout: Luis Pena v Khama Worthy
Few fighters are as visually recognisable as Luis Pena who has been labelled ‘Violent Bob Ross’ due to his unique and similar appearance to the former American artist and television host while his opponent Khama Worthy will be looking to paint the canvas red.
Both men are well versed in the standing fight, with Pena improving his striking following an impressive professional Mixed Martial Arts debut that resulted in five wins with four coming via submission.
Worthy has so far fought just once in the UFC winning via a first-round TKO over Devonte Smith in August of 2019 – he is currently riding a five-fight win streak and earning an impressive reputation following a less than stellar two years between 2015 and 2017 where he amassed two wins and four losses.
Few have captured the love of the MMA community like Violent Bob Ross with his patented look shared regularly on social media and while his opponent certainly has more experience, it would appear than Pena has a much more well rounded skill set with his submission game far superior.
The 26-year-old may be young to the sport but he has used his lanky frame to create distance for himself like a veteran and at 6 foot 3 inches tall that will likely be a huge issue for any worthy foe.
Prediction: Pena via submission.
Sean Woodson v Kyle Nelson
There are few if any featherweights that could look down upon Sean Woodson, not because of his seven and zero record but due to his 6-foot-3 frame and 79 inch reach which will be a huge obstacle for Julian Erosa to overcome as he steps in at short notice to hopefully erase his recent wrongs.
Woodson also known as The Sniper will be aiming to increase his record to an even eight in this odd 150lbs catchweight fight – while originally scheduled to face Kyle Nelson the Canadian ran into visa issues preventing their showdown and Juicy J gladly stepped in.
Erosa is currently on a three fight losing streak with two via KO’s in this – his second appearance within the UFC world having lost out on the Ultmate Fighter Season 22 with Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber back in 2016 suffering a KO defeat to Teruto Ishihara.
Woodson has so far managed to utilise his unique frame to the best of his ability with vicious long strikes and gut wrenching knees but now coming up against a veteran of the game will mark his biggest challenge to date, however he will be up against a man who has not tasted victory since 2018.
Prediction: Woodson via decision.
Philipe Lins v Tanner Boser
How Philipe Lins is not talked about as a major threat in the heavyweight division is a strange conversation – the 34-year-old earned notoriety after winning the Professional Fighter’s League in 2018 amassing four wins in six months and now he'll be hoping to improve his reputation against a man with a current one and one record in Tanner Boser in his current promotion.
Lins - known as Monstro, has so far went toe to toe with one of the greatest of all time in Andrei Arlovski as he lost the bout via decision in a rude welcome to the UFC, however he has only suffered back to back losses once in his career in 2017 before winning four straight and earning his opportunity in the UFC.
Boser the Bulldozer has fought 23 times in his career extending back to 2012 with his debut in his current promotion coming via decision over Daniel Spitz in 2019 before losing to Ciryl Gane.
Prediction: Lins via decision
Villante v Greene
Since arriving in the UFC back in 2012 Gian Villante has competed in every year since having lost and won in every year bar 2017 when he lost both his fights to Maurcio Rua and Patrick Cummins and 2019 when he suffered a first-round tko loss to Michal Oleksiejczuk - now the 34-year-old makes the step up to the heavyweight division for the first time since 2010 to battle Maurice Greene.
New York born Villante boasts a 17-11 record with his last win coming over Ed Herman back in 2018, he will hope to get the better of the exchanges and move fast against his heavier foe.
Greene has competed in the UFC since appearing in 2018 on The Ultimate Fighter finale in a winning effort against Michel Batista, from then he accumulated two more victories before successive losses halted his momentum with a loss to Aleksei Oleinik in January 2020 his most recent outing.
Both men have something to prove and coming off the back of losses coupled with the step up in weight class for Villante the unique scenario could make this the most interesting bout of the night.
Prediction: Greene by KO.
Perry v Gall
Few fighters are able to attract as many headlines as Mike Perry, and while a title in his future looks very unlikely he has never needed gold to garner a following due to his wild personality; couple that with a hungry and calm Mickey Gall and you have a nice blend of personalities that make this contest one that cannot be over looked.
‘Platinum’ Perry started his promising career in 2014 amassing nine victories in just over three years before stumbling through his next three earning a mixed bag of results with wins over Danny Roberts, Paul Felder and Alex Oliveira while losing to Donald Cerrone, Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.
The 28-year-old has flip flopped between the lightweight and welterweight division in the UFC with his wild style earning him rave reviews but also costing him dearly – his latest decision to have none other than his girlfriend as his sole corner staff is an intriguing choice, and one that may come back to bite him.
On the opposite side of the fence, Gall, also aged 28-years-old has just one win outside of his current promotion having been signed by Dana White in February 2016 after being spotted by on his reality show ‘Looking for a Fight’.
The New Jersey born grappler boasts a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but his level of experience has been his biggest enemy costing him in his biggest fight to date against Diego Sanchez, although his level of skill helped him halt the hype train of CM Punk and Sage Northcutt back in 2016.
Both men have an impressive amount of ability but with Perry openly admitting to his limited and inconsistent training camp, even going as far as to suggest he just visited a few gyms, he appears to be looking past Gall as a serious threat, pair that with no coaches to advise him should his wild style fail to work in the opening round – it could be a huge miscalculation for Platinum.
Prediction: Gall by submission
Poirier v Hooker.
There are many words to describe Dustin Poirier and a humanitarian is just one of them, aside from his incredible skill-set, the charitable work he has achieved has been admirable and rightfully praised by the UFC, and stepping up to face him is a man hungry for gold and just inches away from the title picture.
When The Diamond last stepped into the Octagon, few gave the 31-year-old much of a chance of dethroning the ruler of the lightweight division Khabib Nurmagomedov and despite coming close with a Guillotine attempt – ultimately he would fall short, all while earning major plaudits from the Dagestani native.
Having faced the best of the best in Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez and Max Holloway while winning interim gold many have doubted the heart for Poirier after his most recent loss; questioning the hunger of a man with nothing left to prove, but the Lafayette raised athlete is fighting for a lot more than what lays on the surface.
The Hangman however has put together a three fight win streak with just one defeat in his last eight in total, accumulating victories over current Welterweight no.1 contender Gilburt Burns, Al Laquinta and Paul Felder and the Kiwi is now hoping to secure his route to a future title opportunity.
Fighting out of City Kickboxing which was many people’s pick for ‘Gym of the Year’ Hooker has jumped levels to where his skill level was previously and having trained with the likes of Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya – Dan could be the next man to bring gold back to his coaches.
While both fighters have their strengths, the biggest question mark has undoubtedly been the desire of Poirier to continue after his break down post Khabib, but with his charitable efforts well documented it is easy to understand why that loss meant so much to him.
Hooker will be fighting his toughest opponent to date and a former champion in his own right, following a war with Felder that many believe he lost in February 2020 – it is difficult not to ask how much does he want to do that all over again?
Prediction: Poirier via Decision
Disagree with the predictions? Get in touch with the author on twitter at @JLampkinMedia
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