It’s a big heavyweight matchup that will headline Saturday’s event at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada as Curtis “Razor” Blaydes takes on Derrick “Black Beast” Lewis in a five-rounder that could have title implications in the future.
Knowns as UFC Vegas 15, the event will also feature the return of Anthony “LionHeart” Smith who is looking to end a slump. The main card also sees welterweight knockout artists, Miguel Baeza and Takashi Sato.
But before the main card, UFC Vegas 15 has an exciting prelims undercard that will open the show. Let’s take a look at the fights and pick our winners.
Ashlee Evans-Smith is the former CFA women’s featherweight champion. The 33-year old from Ukiah, California also fought for the WSOF before joining the UFC in 2014. Evans-Smith is 3-4 inside the UFC octagon and has won just once in her last four UFC Bouts. Rebel Girl is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 67 inches.
Norma Dumont Viana fought for Jungle Fight and Shooto Brazil before joining the UFC earlier this year. The 30-year old Brazilian lost to Megan Anderson in her UFC debut and has an overall record of 4-1 with two wins via submission. She is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 67 inches.
Evans-Smith’s wrestling pedigree hasn’t transformed to a successful weapon in the cage and her striking cannot be considered elite. There isn’t much footage on Viana and she just held Megan Anderson against the cage in her last outing. She had a one and a half layoff before that fight. I think Evans-Smith has more experience and that should push her to victory here.
Prediction: Ashlee Evans-Smith
Martin Day appeared for Destiny MMA, Tachi Palace Fights, and the URCC among others. The 32-year old from Kailua, Hawaii appeared in the Contender Series in 2017 but lost to Jamie Alvarez. Day is winless in two UFC bouts and he is coming off a KO loss to Davey Grant at UFC 251. He is 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. Day has a record of 8-4 with three knockouts and two wins via submission.
Anderson dos Santos is a veteran who has fought since 2011 and has appeared in promotions like Jungle Fight, Titan FC, and Thunder Fight. The 35-year old from Sao Paulo, Brazil is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-5 tall and has a reach of 70 inches. Dos Santos has a record of 20-8 with five knockouts and 11 wins via submission. Like Day, Dos Santos is 0-2 inside the UFC octagon.
Day has a suspect takedown defense but has a notable striking edge over the shorter Dos Santos. For as long as Day doesn’t go crazy with his striking attack and defends dos Santos’ takedown attempts, this should be a fight for him to win. Day uses his height and reach advantage on the way to a decision win.
Prediction: Martin Day
Gina Mazany is the former Alaska Fight Championship women’s bantamweight champion who also fought for the King of the Cage promotion. This is her second tour of duty with the UFC. Mazany went 1-3 the first time out and she lost to Julia Avila in her first fight back last June. The 32-year old from Anchorage, Alaska is a southpaw who stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 68 inches. She has a record of 6-4 with two knockouts and two wins via submission.
Rachael Ostovich is a former Invicta FC fighter who joined the UFC in 2017. The 29-year old from Hawaii won her UFC debut against Karine Gevorrgyan but has dropped consecutive bouts to Montana Dela Rosa and Paige Van Zant. Ostovich is 5-3 tall with a reach of 62 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Her record stands at 4-5 with two wins via submission.
Ostovich isn’t as bad as her UFC record says. She is the more superior athlete in this matchup and although she is 1-2 inside the octagon, she is a good grappler. Mazany doesn’t have good striking defense nor does she defend well when she is taken down. She doesn’t come with a specific game plan and takes every fight as it comes. She could try to grapple with Ostovich but that will prove to be costly.
Prediction: Rachel Ostovich
Jonathan Pearce fought for Valor Fights and Bellator before coming over to the UFC via the Contender Series in 2019. JSP made his octagon debut at UFC on ESPN 6 but has been knocked out by Joe Lauzon. The 28-year old from Johnson City, Tennessee has a record of 9-4 with seven knockouts and one win via submission. Pearce is a switch hitter who stands six feet tall with a reach of 71 inches.
Kai Kamaka III is a veteran who has appeared for KOTC, Bellator MMA, and LFA. The 25-year old from Hawaii defeated Tony Kelley in his UFC debut at UFC 252 last August. Kamaka is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-7 tall and has a reach of 69 inches.
Kamaka has good boxing skills that can punish Pearce’s poor defense and he also has the takedown offense to dominate this fight on the mat. Pearce is the larger man here and if he can put the pressure, Kamaka has cardio issues. To do that, he must engage Kamaka in a striking battle but he’s not going to outstrike the Hawaiian on the feet.
Prediction: Kai Kamaka
China’s Su Mudaerji is a 24-year old who appeared for the WLF and CWN MMA promotion. He joined the UFC in 2018 and has fought twice since then, going 1-1 over the period. Mudaerji is a southpaw who stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 72 inches. He has a record of 12-4 with 10 knockouts and one win via submission. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over Andre Soukhamthath in August 2019.
Malcolm Gordon fought mostly for WXC and TKO MMA before joining the UFC in earlier this year. The 30-year old from London, Ontario, Canada s a switch hitter who is 5-7 tall with a reach of 71 inches. He is coming off a submission loss to Amir Albazi last June in his UFC debut. Gordon has a record of 12-4 with four knockouts and six wins via submission.
Mudaerji has the edge in height and reach. He also has a more versatile striking game. However, Gordon’s wrestling is going to keep him in this match. The Tibetan has poor takedown defense and when he is taken down, he looks to be clueless. Unless Gordon is able to repeatedly force this fight to the ground, Mudaerji should catch him with a big punch in a striking affair.
Prediction: Su Mudaerji
Luke Sanders is the former RFA bantamweight champion. The 34-year old Texan also fought for Bellator and joined the UFC in 2016. Sanders is 3-3 inside the UFC octagon and is coming off a KO win over former Bantamweight champion Renan Barao in February 2019. He stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 71 inches and is a switch hitter. Sanders has a record of 13-3 with seven knockouts and two wins via submission.
Nathan Maness is a veteran of HRMMA and TKO. This 29-year old from Morganfield, Kentucky defeated Johnny Munoz at UFC Fight Night 173. Maness is 5-10 tall with a reach of 72 inches while fighting out the orthodox stance. He has a record of 12-1 with four knockouts and two wins via submission.
Sanders is the shorter fighter here but he has more pop in his punches. Maness may be the taller fighter here but he doesn’t know how to take advantage of his size. He lacks the power to stop Sanders and doesn’t have the submission skills to force him to tap out. That said, I think Sanders beats up Maness on the feat and wins this fight convincingly.
Prediction: Luke Sanders
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