The UFC ends 2021 with a Fight Night event in Las Vegas on December 18th. The event will be headlined by heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus.
Lewis saw a four-fight winning streak end at the hands of Cyril Gane in his last bout when they fought for the interim heavyweight title. This is Lewis’ 4th main event appearance and his third fight of the year so no doubt he’s looking to end it with a bang.
Daukaus will also be fighting for the third time in 2021. The former Philadelphia police officer is currently ranked 7th in the UFC heavyweight division and a win over the no. 3 ranked Lewis will most certainly move him up the ladder.
In the co-main event, Stephen Thompson takes on Belal Muhammad while Amanda Lemos faces Angela Hill in the third bout of the evening.
But before the main show begins, an exciting prelims undercard that includes former women’s bantamweight challenger Raquel Pennington and former RFA middleweight champion Gerald Meerschaert will open the show.
Let’s take a look at the prelims undercard bouts.
Stoltzfus was a mainstay at We Love MMA who also appeared in the German MMA promotion before appearing in the Contender Series where he scored a TKO win over Joseph Pryer to earn his UFC contract. However, the 30-year old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania dropped his first two assignments against Rodolfo Vieira and Kyle Daukaus.
He is 13-3 with two knockouts and five submission wins. Stoltzfus is six feet tall with a reach of 75 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Gerald Meershchaert is a former RFA middleweight champion who also appeared for Titan FC and King of Cage. The 33-year old from Racine, Wisconsin joined the UFC in 2016 and won four out of his first five UFC assignments. He’s just 4-5 since but has won his last two against Bartosz Fabinski and Makhmud Muradov, both via submission.
GM3 has a record of 33-14 with six knockouts and 25 wins via submission. He is a southpaw who stands 6-1 tall with a 77-inch reach.
Stoltzfus is getting another raw deal here as he faces yet another finisher in Meerschaert. Although Meerschaert’s chin is no longer what it used to be, he still proved in his fight against Muradov that it can still withstand some punishment. That’s not good news for Stoltzfus who isn’t as skilled as GM3 is and needs a knockout to win this fight
Meerschaert will use his volume striking to set up a takedown. Stoltzfus will scramble and that will lead to an opening which GM3 will take advantage of. Once he wears his opponent down, GM3 will find that submission that ends the bout.
Prediction: Gerald Meerschaert
Jourdain is the former TKO featherweight and interim TKO lightweight champion. The 26-year old from Montreal, Quebec in Canada joined the UFC in 2019 but has struggled to find consistency inside the Octagon. Jourdain is just 2-3-1 in six UFC bouts and is coming off a submission loss to Julian Erosa last September 4th.
He is 11-4 with eight knockouts and three submission wins. Jourdain is a switch hitter who stands 5-9 tall with a reach of 69 inches.
Andre Ewell is a former CES MMA bantamweight champion. The 33-year old from Anaheim, California also fought under Gladiator Challenge, LFA, and KOTC before joining the UFC. Ewell opened his UFC career with a 4-2 record but is coming off back-to-back losses against Chris Gutierez and Julio Arce.
Ewell is 17-8 with seven knockouts and four submission losses. He stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 75 inches and fights out of the southpaw stance.
Ewell has a six-inch reach advantage but other than that, he has not panned out in the UFC. Moving up to featherweight will not change his fortunes. It could even worsen them, especially against a powerful opponent like this one. Jourdain isn’t exactly a world-beater but it does appear like his size and power may be more than enough for Ewell to handle.
The path to victory for Ewell here would be to box from long range. However, Jourdain may be too strong and durable to be outboxed from a distance. He’s going to get in somehow and land the big shots that end Ewell’s night early.
Prediction: Charles Jourdain
Pennington is the no. 8 bantamweight in the UFC. The 33-year old from Colorado Springs, Colorado is a former UFC bantamweight title challenger who used to fight for Invicta FC. Rocky was a competitor in The Ultimate Fighter 18 tournament where she made it to the semis and lost to former boxing world champion Jessica Rakoczy. Pennington holds the UFC record for most fights in the bantamweight division with 14.
She is 12-8 with one knockout and three submission wins. Pennington is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 67 inches.
Macy Chiasson is the no. 10 ranked female bantamweight in the UFC. This 30-year old from New Orleans, Louisiana was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 28 tournament where she defeated Pannie Kianzad in the final. Chiasson is 4-1 inside the UFC Octagon and is coming off back-to-back wins over Shanna Young and Marion Reneau.
Chiasson is an orthodox fighter who is 5-11 tall with a reach of 72 inches. Her record stands at 7-1 with two knockouts and two submission victories.
Chiasson has a four-inch height and 4.5-inch reach advantage against Pennington and those should give her the advantage at a distance. She also has the technical ability and strength to keep Pennington off her.
The combination of Chiasson’s knees, elbows, and punching power will be more than the damage that Penington can do on the inside. This is going to be a tough fight but in the end, Chiasson’s more eye-catching shots will secure her the win on points.
Prediction: Macy Chiasson
Raoni Barcelos is a former five-time Brazilian wrestling champion who also won the RFA featherweight title three times. The 34-year old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil joined the UFC in 2018 and won his first five UFC fights before suffering a loss to Timur Valiev in his most recent outing. Barcelos is also a former BJJ world cup and world championship winner.
He has a record of 16-2 with eight knockouts and two submission wins. Barcelos is 5-7 tall with a reach of 67 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Victor Henry fought at Pancrase, Deep, Rizin, CXF, and KOTC before winning the title at Lights Out Extreme Fighting promotion. The 34-year old from Los Angeles, California will be making his UFC debut in this bout. Henry won 8 straight bouts before losing to Denis Lavrentyev in November 2020. He bounced back with a victory against Albert Morales.
Henry is 21-5 with six knockouts and eight submission losses. He is a switch hitter who is 5-7 tall with a reach of 68 inches.
Henry earned his stripes in the Japanese circuit but while he may have been dominant there and even in his LXF title win the last time out, the level of opposition is different in the UFC. If you watched his tapes, he’s been hit by strikers lesser than Barcelos and has been taken down by wrestlers inferior to the Brazilian.
Barcelos may not be world champion material but he’s a tough out for anyone in the division. When I look at this matchup, Barcelos looks to have the advantage wherever this fight goes. I think the bigger question here is whether Henry will go the distance or not. I don’t think so. Barcelos lands a perfectly timed right-hand counter shot to put him to sleep or the Brazilian gets on top of him and pounds him to victory.
Prediction: Raoni Barcelos
Tafa is a former XFC heavyweight champion in Australia before joining the UFC in 2019. The 28-year old from Auckland, New Zealand has struggled with the quality of opposition in the UFC and has gone 1-3 in his four UFC bouts. Tafa is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jared Vanderaa at UFC Vegas 27 last May.
He is a southpaw fighter who stands six feet tall with a reach of 74 inches. Tafa has a record of 4-3 with all of his wins coming via knockout.
Harry Hunsucker is a former HR MMA heavyweight champion who appeared in the Contender Series 2020 but lost to Jared Vanderaa. Hunsucker joined the UFC this year and made his debut against Tai Tuivasa, losing the fight via first-round TKO.
The 32-year old from Richmond, Kentucky has a record of 7-4 with three knockouts and four wins via submission. He is an orthodox fighter who stands 6-2 tall with a reach of 75 inches.
It would be foolish to write off Tafa here even if he is just 1-3 inside the Octagon. The Aussie may not be at the level of Tai Tuivasa but he doesn’t have to be to beat Hunsucker. Hunsucker’s offense is too sloppy and he leaves too many openings and his defense is non-existent
Whether you like it or not, Hunsucker is the easiest opponent Tafa has seen in the UFC and he’s going to look his best here, even if he’s not. I think Tafa catches Hunsucker clean with one big punch that blasts him away. This one’s definitely not going the distance, is likely not getting past round one.
Prediction: Justin Tafa
Eubanks is a veteran who fought for Invicta FC and Cage Fury before joining the UFC in 2018. She won her first two bouts against Roxanne Modafferi and Lauren Murphy but is just 3-4 since then. However, Eubanks is coming off a TKO win over Elise Reed last July 24th.
She is 7-6 with three knockouts. Eubanks stands 5-4 tall with a reach of 67 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Melissa Gatto fought mostly under Brazil’s Pantanal Fight Champions before she joined the UFC earlier this year. This 25-year old from Sao Paulo, Brazil defeated Victoria Leonardo in her UFC debut last August.
Gatto has an undefeated record of 7-0 with one knockout and four submission victories. She is 5-5 tall with a reach of 69 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Eubanks looked strong and determined in going for the takedown in her last bout. That should be key here as Gatto’s boxing beats Eubanks any day of the week. If Eubanks can keep Gatto on the back foot and prevent her from getting into a striking rhythm, she has a good chance of taking this fight to the ground where she has the advantage. Once on the ground, Eubanks will dominate from the top position.
If Gatto keeps this fight up and controls the pace and distance, that’s trouble for Eubanks. But if this fight goes down, Eubanks is going to win it. I like the latter to happen.
Prediction: Sijara Eubanks
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