UFC action continues this weekend as the women’s top flyweight contender Jessica Eye welcomes #10 strawweight Cynthia Calvillo to the flyweight division in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Saskatoon on June 13, 2020, at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This was one of the UFC’s events that were canceled last April due to the coronavirus pandemic. But since the UFC resumed operations last month, this event was rebooked for the weekend after UFC 250.
Eye is coming off a win over Vivian Araujo and the veteran is looking to get another crack at the flyweight title after she lost via devastating knockout to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 238. Meanwhile, Calvillo will be moving up in weight for this bout after missing weight in two out of her last three bouts.
Let’s take a look at this weekend’s main card and make our fight predictions:
Jessica Eye is the #1 ranked UFC female flyweight and the 12th ranked female pound for pound fighter in the UFC. The 33-year old is a former Ring of Combat 130-pound champion who joined the UFC in 2013. She started her UFC career with a 1-5-1 record while fighting as a bantamweight but since moving back to flyweight, she is 4-1 with her only loss coming at the hands of Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC women’s flyweight title at UFC 238. She stands 5-6 tall and has a reach of 66 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. She has a record of 15-7 with three knockouts and one win by way of submission.
Cynthia Calvillo is the 10th ranked female strawweight in the UFC who will be moving up in weight for this bout. Calvillo fought for Global Knockout and LFA before joining the UFC in 2017. After winning her first three octagon assignments, she suffered her first career loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 219. Since then, she’s picked up two wins and a draw. Calvillo is 8-1-1 with two knockouts and three wins via submission. She stands 5-4 tall with a reach of 64 inches.
Eye is a veteran who is known for her toughness and high work rate. She doesn’t have that fight-changing power but is very active and aggressive when she fights on her feet. He ground game is suspect but she is good enough to hang around on the mat. Calvillo is more rounded between the two. Her striking is polished and she has some pop in her punches. But she is better on the ground where she uses her athleticism and BJJ background. However, Eye is tough as nails and if you take out her loss to Valentina, she’s on a terrific run at flyweight. Calvillo is also moving up in weight so I’ll give the edge to Eye here.
PREDICTION: JESSICA EYE (-116)
Karl Roberson is a former professional kickboxer who fought for CFFC and Ring of Combat before appearing in Dana White’s Contender Series. He has fought six times inside the UFC octagon and has a record of 4-2 over that period. Roberson has a record of 9-2 with two knockouts and four wins via submission. He stands 6-1 tall and has a reach of 74 inches while fighting out of the southpaw stance. Roberson is coming off back to back victories over Wellington Turman and Roman Kopylov.
Marvin Vettori is a former Venator FC welterweight champion who also challenged for the vacant UCMMA welterweight title. He is 4-2-1 in seven UFC bouts and has won his last two bouts against Cesar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez. Vettori stands six feet tall and has a reach of 74 inches while fighting as a southpaw. His overall record is 14-4 with two knockouts and eight wins via submission.
With his kickboxing background, Roberson is dangerous in the standup because of his power and length. But although he likes his chances on his feet, he also has four submission wins. Vettori is a very well-rounded young fighter. He throws vicious combinations on his feet and also does a good job of utilizing his knees. Vettori is also terrific in the clinch and he has excellent scrambling skills that enable him to survive on the ground. Vettori is the more experienced fighter here but I like Roberson’s chances because he has punching power and he has become comfortable fighting on the mat. I see more potential in Roberson and I like him at plus money.
PREDICTION: KARL ROBERSON (+175)
Meran Dvalishvili is the former Ring of Combat bantamweight champion who vacated his title to join the UFC in 2017. Dvalishvili lost his first two UFC bouts but has picked up three consecutive wins against Terrion Ware, Brad Katona, and Casey Kenney. The 29-year old from Georgia has a record of 14-4 with two knockouts and one win via submission. He stands 5-6 tall and has a reach of 68 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Ray Borg has been a competitor since 2012 and he has fought for promotions like King of the Cage and Legacy Fighting Championship. He won the SCS flyweight championship in 2013 and joined the UFC three fights later. Borg challenged Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 216 but lost the fight via TKO. He stands 5-4 tall and has a reach of 63 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. Borg has a record of 13-5 with one knockout and six submission victories to his credit.
Dvalishvili is known for his takedown ability and wrestling skills. He has a decent striking but doesn’t have the knockout power and is a point fighter who wears his opponents on the ground. Meanwhile, Borg is a strong fighter who also likes to go for the takedowns and he usually controls top position with a vicious ground and pound. Dvalishvili doesn’t have the knockout power but he has a five-inch reach advantage that he can use to dominate the stan-up battle. On the ground, Borg struggled with takedowns in his last fight against Simon and I think he will struggle with Dvalishvili’s takedown attempts here. This is Borg’s third fight since February and while you love to see fighters get busy, I think this workload is too much. Give me Dvalishvili here.
PREDICTION: MERAB DVALISHVILI (-405)
Andre Fili fought for Gladiator Challenge, Rebel Fighter, and Tachi Palace Fights among others before heading to the UFC in 2013. He has fought 13 times inside the octagon and has a record of 7-6 under the promotion. Overall, Fili is 20-7 with nine knockouts and three wins by submission. The 29-year old Hawaiian-Samoan stands 5-11 tall with a reach of 74 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Fili is coming off a decision loss to Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 246.
Charles Jourdain spent most of his early career fighting at Quebec’s TKO promotion where he was the featherweight and interim lightweight champion. The 24-year old Canadian took a short notice fight against Desmond Green in May 2019 and lost that fight by decision. He bounced back with a knockout win over Doo Ho Choi at UFC Fight Night 165. “Air” Jourdain is 10-2 with seven knockouts and three wins by submission. He stands 5-9 tall and has a reach of 69 inches and is a switch hitter.
Fili is the favorite in this bout because he has been in the UFC much longer than Jourdain. Although he’s only 7-6 inside the octagon, Fili has never lost back to back fights so history tells us that he is going to win this one. However, Jourdain has the qualities that you like from an underdog. The Canadian has star potential and has the athleticism to become elite. He has impressive cardio and possesses the knockout power to drop a street fighter like Fili. I’ll take my chance on the underdog here and take the plus money.
PREDICTION: CHARLES JOURDAIN (+185)
Jordan Espinosa fought for LFC, CES MMA, and GKO among others. He joined the UFC after appearing in Dan White’s Contender Series in 2018 where he knocked out Riley Dutro. He has an overall record of 14-7 with two knockouts and seven wins via submission. He is 1-2 inside the Octagon and is coming off back to back losses to Matt Schnell and Alex Perez. Espinosa is 5-6 tall with a reach of 69 inches and is an orthodox fighter.
Mark De La Rosa is the former DWFC and SCC bantamweight champion. He joined the UFC in 2017 and is just 2-4 inside the octagon. De La Rosa heads to this bout after suffering three consecutive losses. His overall record is 11-4 with 1 knockout and six submission victories. In his last bout last February, De La Rosa was knocked out by Raulian Paiva. De La Rosa is 5-6 tall and has a reach of 65 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
You can make a case for both fighters here. Both are talented but have struggled to pick up wins inside the octagon. Espinosa has an excellent submission game but De La Rosa is a BJJ black belt and has the wrestling to counter his opponent’s submission moves. On their feet, De La Rosa’s boxing is better, and overall, I think he is the more well-rounded fighter. I think that De La Rosa is worth the plus money here.
PREDICTION: MARK DE LA ROSA (+140)
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