UFC action continues this Saturday night at the promotion’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 40 featuring Aspen Ladd vs Norma Dumont.
Dumont was slated to fight former UFC bantamweight champion, Holly Holm, in the headliner but the Preacher’s Daughter pulled out of the bout with an injury. Stepping in for Holm is Ladd whose fight with Macy Chiasson at bantamweight two weeks ago was called off after she missed weight and was shaky on the scales.
But before Dumont and Ladd square off in the main event, an exciting prelims undercard opens the show in Las Vegas. Let’s take a look at the bouts in the undercard and pick out the winners.
Andrew Sanchez is a former fighter from the Resurrection Fighting Alliance who won the 23rd season of the Ultimate fighter by beating Khalil Rountree. The 33-year old 2011 NAI Wrestle of the Year out of McKendree University is just an even 4-4 in the UFC and is coming off a TKO loss at the hands of Makhmud Muradov at UFC 257.
Sanchez has a record of 12-6 with six knockouts and two submission wins. He is 6-1 tall with a reach of 74 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Bruno Silva is a former M-1 Global middleweight champion who joined the UFC in 2018 but did not fight until last June after serving a two-year USADA suspension. The 32-year old Brazilian knocked out Wellington Turman in his UFC debut and has won his last five bouts via knockout, including four in the first round.
Silva is 20-6 with 17 knockouts and fights out of the orthodox stance. He is six feet tall and has a reach of 74 inches.
Sanchez is well-rounded on the ground and he has the skill set to take advantage of Silva’s limited takedown defense and sloppy striking. However, he has cardio issues and may not have the durability to withstand Silva’s big punches.
For Sanchez to win, he must take this fight down to the mat. But to do that, he’s going to eat punches from his opponent. Silva doesn’t need to land too many punches to put Sanchez away and unless Sanchez establishes his wrestling early, he’s going to get clipped or swept down and beaten via ground and pound. Either way, this should be a stoppage win.
Prediction: Bruno Silva
Danny Roberts fought under Cage Warriors and CWFC before joining the UFC in 2015. The 34-year old from London, England won seven straight bouts from 2012 to April 2016. Since then, he’s just 4-4 although he’s coming off a win over Zelim Imadaev where he snapped a two-fight losing streak.
Roberts is 17-5 with eight knockouts and five wins via submission. He is a southpaw fighter who stands 6-1 tall with a reach of 74 inches.
Ramazan Emeev is a former Combat Sambo world champion from Dagestan. The 34-year old won the M-1 Global middleweight title twice, defending the belt three times during his second reign before joining the UFC. Emeev is 5-1 inside the UFC Octagon with his only loss coming at the hands of Anthony Rocco Martin in 2019.
Emeev is 20-4 with three knockouts and seven submission wins. He is also a southpaw who stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 76 inches.
Roberts has a six-inch reach and three-inch height advantage over Emeev, but that’s perhaps as good as he can get against his opponent. Roberts has a good striking arsenal but doesn’t have the durability to withstand a long striking battle. He also has a limited takedown defense which has held back his ground game.
Emeev isn’t as skilled on the feet as Roberts, but that won’t be a disadvantage if he can take this fight to the ground, which he likely will given his opponent’s takedown defense. Emeev will lean on his top control to get him another win here.
Prediction: Ramazan Emeev
Nate Landwehr is a former M-1 Global featherweight champion and Gladiators of the Cage featherweight champion. The 33-yea old from Clarksville, Tennessee joined the UFC last year but is 1-2 in three bouts with two knockout losses. In his last bout, he was stopped by Julian Erosa at UFC Vegas 19.
Landwehr is 14-4 with 8 knockouts. He is 5-9 tall with a reach of 72 inches and is an orthodox fighter.
Ludovit Klein fought for ACB, CWFC, and Oktagon MMA. The 26-year old from Slovakia joined the UFC last year and defeated Shane Young in his Octagon debut. Klein however, lost to Michael Trizano at UFC on ESPN 24 last May, snapping an eight-fight winning streak.
Klein is 17-3 with 8 knockouts and 8 submission victories. He is a southpaw fighter who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 72 inches.
This fight only has two endings written all over it: Either Klein puts Landwehr to sleep in the first round or the latter surviving the early onslaught and coming on strong when Klein starts to wear down.
Given Landwehr’s recent losses to Herbert Burns and Julian Erosa, I don’t think his chin can withstand the kind of power that Klein generates with his strikes. Klein is just too skilled as a kickboxer for Landwehr and he’s also too powerful for him to overcome. Watch out for Klein’s head kicks here.
Prediction: Ludovit Klein
Danaa Batgerel is a former MGL Featherweight champion. The 32-year old from Mongolia joined the UFC in 2019 and lost to Hili Alateng in his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 157. Since then, he’s picked up back-to-back victories over Guido Cannetti and Kevin Natividad, winning both bouts via first-round knockout.
Batgerel is 9-2 with five knockouts and two submission wins. He is 5-7 tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Bandon Davis is a former Gulf Coast MMA bantamweight champion. The 31-year old from Atlanta, Georgia is in his second run in the UFC. Davis first entered the UFC via the Contender Series but went 2-5 in his first stint with the promotion and got cut. This will be his first fight back in the UFC.
Davis is 5-10 tall with a reach of 72 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. He has a record of 14-8 with four knockouts and four submission wins.
Davis is three inches taller than Batgerel and owns a two-inch reach advantage over his opponent. This is his second tour of duty in the UFC but I’m not sure if he’s gotten better while he was away. What’s unmistakable though is his durability and the volume of strikes he produces every fight.
Bategrel though has the tools to beat Davis. He has the better striking technique and has an underrated wrestling game. Unless he goes bananas and loos for the KO, this is an easy win for him. Batgerel picks his spots and fights with a patient game plan.
Prediction: Danaa Bategrel
Istela Nunes fought under Immortal FC and One Championship before joining the UFC just recently. The 29-year old Brazilian went 2-1 at One Championship, losing only to Angela Lee. However, she has not fought since July 2018.
Nunes has a record of 6-1 with two wins via knockout. She stands 5-4 tall with a reach of 66 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Ariane Carnelossi fought under Thunder Fight and Future FC among other promotions before coming over to the UFC in 2019. However, the 28-year old from Sao Paulo, Brazil has fought just twice inside the Octagon, losing to Angela Hill in her UFC debut and scoring a knockout win over Na Liang last April.
She is 13-2 with nine knockouts and one win via submission. Carnelossi is 5-2 tall with a reach of 61 inches and is an orthodox fighter.
Nunes is taller and is the more technical kickboxer. However, she doesn’t fight well on her back foot which is going to be an issue against an opponent who moves only forward. If Nunes can fight at a distance, however which way, she’s going to have the edge here.
In most probability though, Carnelossi forces her way forward and overwhelms Nunes with power. If not, Carnelossi makes Nunes move backward all fight long and wins the fight with her aggression.
Prediction: Arian Carnelossi
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