The UFC is back with UFC 249.
After a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UFC resumes its operations on May 9, 2020, at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Everyone’s talking about the stacked main card led by the main event of Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje and the co-main event between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz. But UFC 249 isn’t just loaded on the main card. It also has an explosive prelims undercard which should set the tone for an exciting night of octagon action.
Let’s take a look at the prelims undercard bouts for UFC 249:
Ryan Spann has been fighting since 2013. He is the former Legacy Fighting Alliance light heavyweight champion who made it to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series. He is undefeated after four bouts under the UFC promotion and is coming off a submission win over Devin Clark at UFC on ESPN +19.
Spann is 6-5 tall and has a reach of 79 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. The 28-year old from Memphis has a record of 17-5 with four knockouts and 11 wins via submission. Spann lands an average of 3.26 significant strikes per minute at a 43% accuracy rate and he has a striking defense of 52%. He completes 33% of his takedowns and has a takedown defense of 60%.
Sam Alvey fought for Bellator, King of Cage, and MFC before coming to the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter 16. The former MFC middleweight champion is just 3-5 in his last eight bouts and has lost his last three fights. In his most recent bout, Alvey lost via unanimous decision to Klidson Abreu.
Alvey is a southpaw who stands 6-2 tall and has a reach of 75 inches. His professional MMA record is 33-13 with 19 knockouts and three wins by submission. Alvey lands 3.05 significant strikes per minute at a 44% accuracy and he has a 55% striking defense. He has a takedown defense of 83% but completes just 16% of his takedown attempts.
Spann has all the advantages in this fight. He is unbeaten, is taller, rangier, younger, and more versatile. I think that the only chance that Alvey has here is the puncher’s chance. This should be a dominant win for Spann. He’s going to pick Alvey apart or stop him late in the fight.
Prediction: Ryan Spann -410
Bryce Mitchell was the V3 Fights Featherweight champion and a contestant at The Ultimate Fighter 27 show where he lost to eventual winner Brad Katona in the semifinals. The 25-year old from Arkansas is undefeated in 12 fights including three straight wins in the UFC.
The southpaw Mitchell stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 70 inches. He has a record of 12-0 with nine submission wins. He lands an average of 1.78 significant strikes per minute at a 50% accuracy and a 59% strike defense. He completes an average of 1.75 takedowns per 15 minutes and has a takedown defense of 33%.
Charles Rosa started his career with CFA and CES MMA. He posted an undefeated 9-0 record when he joined the UFC in 2014. He has alternated losses and wins in his last six bouts and is coming off a Performance of the Night submission win over Manny Bermudez at UFC on ESPN 6.
Rosa averages 3.79 significant strikes per minute with a 36% accuracy and 50% striking defense. He also averages 2.82 takedowns per 15 minutes and is 34% accurate with 47% takedown defense. The 33-year old Rosa is a switch-hitter who stands 5-9 tall and has a reach of 69 inches.
Rosa is a very durable fighter and his tenacity is going to keep him in this fight. However, I think that Mitchell is too physical for him to manhandle on the ground. Thug Nasty will keep this fight even on the feet but he wins it with takedowns and ground control.
Prediction: Bryce Mitchell -158
Vicente Luque is the 13th ranked welterweight in the UFC. The 28-year old from New Jersey was a competitor of The Ultimate Fighter 21 and made his promotional debut in the TUF 21 finale. After losing his first octagon bout, he has won 10 out of his last 11 fights before losing to Stephen Thompson at UFC 244.
The Silent Assassin has a record of 17-7 with nine knockouts and seven wins by submission. He lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute with a 53% accuracy and a 51% striking defense. Luque has a takedown defense of 64% and lands 0.82 takedowns per 15 minutes. He stands 5-11 tall and has a reach of 75 inches and is an orthodox fighter.
Niko Price was a former Fight Time welterweight champion who was 8-0 when he joined the UFC. The 30-year old from Florida has won four out of his last six bouts and is coming off a knockout win over James Vick at UFC on ESPN +19.
The Hybrid stands 6-0 tall and has a reach of 76 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. Price connects on an average of 3.08 significant strikes per minute at a 34% accuracy and a striking defense of 51%. He averages 1.08 takedowns completed per 15 minutes at a 23% accuracy and a takedown defense of 61%. Price has a record of 14-3 with 10 knockouts and 3 wins by submission.
Despite losing to Wonderboy, Luque remains one of the dark horses in the welterweight division. Price has the knockout power to end this fight but he’s not improved since these two first met. Luque won the first fight by submission and there is a good chance that he does it again.
Prediction: Vincent Luque -270
Uriah Hall was the runner-up of The Ultimate Fighter 17 competition where he lost to Kevin Gastelum. Hall is a former two-time Ring of Combat middleweight champion who also fought for Bellator. He has won three out of his last four bouts after suffering three straight losses from 2015-16.
Hall stands 6-0 tall with a reach of 79 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He has a record of 15-9 with 11 knockouts and one win via submission. Hall averages 3.31 significant strikes per minute at a 50% accuracy with a 53% striking defense. He completes 38% of his takedowns and has a 69% takedown defense.
Jacare needs no introduction. He is the former Strikeforce middleweight champion and a former competitor of DREAM and Jungle Fight. Once known as the most feared middleweight in the business, Souza is currently ranked 14th in the UFC’s middleweight division.
Souza stands 6-1 tall with a reach of 72 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. His record stands at 26-8 with 8 knockouts and 14 wins by submission. Souza lands 2.54 significant strikes per 15 minutes and has an accuracy of 46% with a striking defense of 62%. He averages 2.46 takedowns per 15 minutes and has a takedown defense of 60%.
Jacare is already 40 years old and his chin is no longer as durable as it once was. His cardio is also questionable but still, he is more reliable than Uriah Hall. Hall has knockout power but he also has a poor octagon awareness. Souza has the tools to win this fight anywhere and I think the old warrior picks up a win here.
Prediction: Jacare Souza -125
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