The UFC’s first event of February sees middleweights Jack Hermansson and Sean Strickland facing off in the main event and Contender veteran Punahele Soriano looking to bounce back from his first-ever loss against Nick Maximov in the co-main event. Meanwhile, Rakhimov tries to stay unbeaten against Carlston Harris in the third bout of the main card.
But before the UFC Vegas 47 main card commences, an interesting list of prelims undercard opens the show at the APEX Facility in Nevada.
Let’s take a look at the prelims undercard bouts of UFC Vegas 47 and make our predictions.
Miles Johns is the former LFA bantamweight champion. The 27-year old from Newton, Kansas also fought for Xtreme Knockout before he joined the Contender Series in 2019 where he picked up a win over Richie Santiago. That win earned him a UFC deal later that year. Johns is in 3-1 inside the Octagon and is coming off a KO win over Anderson Dos Santos at UFC 265 last August 7th.
Johns is 12-1 with four knockouts and two submission victories and has earned Performance of the Night honors in his last two bouts. He is 5-7 tall with a reach of 66 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
John Castaneda is a former NCAA Division II wrestler who was a former Combate Americas bantamweight champion and Driller Promotions lightweight champion. The 30-year old from Mankato, Minnesota also fought under RFA and KOTC before joining the UFC in 2020. He appeared in the Contender Series in 2017 where he earned a decision win over Cheyden Leialoha.
Castaneda is 5-6 tall with a reach of 71 inches and is a switch hitter. He owns a record of 18-5 with 8 knockouts and five submission wins.
Johns has made his life much harder with questionable decision-making and passivity in previous bouts. If he tries to do just enough to stay on top of Castaneda, he’s getting beat here. Castaneda isn’t a world-beater but when he’s on the front foot, Johns can’t stay in the lower gears.
However, If Johns sets the pace with an active jab, he’s going to dominate Castaeda. If he chooses to wrestle, Johns also has superior skills there. Either way, Johns looks like he’s got this figured out. Unless he self-destructs. Point-fighting with jabs and occasional takedowns are going to win this on points for Johns.
Prediction: Miles Johns
Hakeem Dawodu is a former World Muay Thai Council Intercontinental Welterweight champion. The 30-year old from Calgary, Canada went undefeated in eight bouts under the World Series of Fighting. He joined the UFC in 2018 and after losing his debut against Danny Henry, he won five straight bouts. Dawodu’s win streak ended in his last bout when he was beaten by Movsa Evloev at UFC 263.
Dawodu is 12-2 with seven knockouts. He is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 73 inches.
Mike Trizano was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 27 tournament. The 30-year old from New York City previously fought for Ring of Combat where he was featherweight champion. Trizano was also the former Maverick MMA lightweight champion and had a one-fight stint with Bellator. Trizano is 2-1 inside the Octagon and coming off a win over Ludovit Klein.
Trizano is 9-1 with two knockouts and two submission wins. He is 5-11 tall with a reach of 71 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Dawodu has a 2.5-inch advantage in reach and is the more superior fighter on the feet with his Muay Thai background. Although his loss to Henry took out a lot of his sting, he is still capable of delivering violent finishes.
Without a good takedown offense, Trizano is at a disadvantage on the feet. He has the ability to put the pressure and move forward but those won’t negate Dawodu’s edge in versatility and striking power. Look for Trizano to put up a valiant effort. However, the better and more talented fighter should win this fight.
Prediction: Hakeem Dawodu
Chidi Njokouani is a veteran who fought under Bellator, TPF, RFA, LFC before appearing in the Contender Series last September where he scored a TKO win over Mario Filipi de Sousa and earned a UFC contract. The 33-year old is just 3-3 in his last six bouts with losses to Andrey Koreshkov, John Salter, and Rafael Carvalho during that stretch.
Njokuani is 6-3 tall with a reach of 80 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. His record stands at 20-7 with 12 knockouts and one submission win.
Mar-Andre Barriault is a former middleweight and light heavyweight champion at the TKO Promotions. The 31-year old from Quebec, Canada was also a Hybrid Combat middleweight champion. He joined the UFC in 2019 and went 0-3 with one no-contest in his first four UFC bouts before winning his last two. In his last bout, Barriault scored a unanimous decision win over Dalcha Lungiambula.
Barriault has a record of 13-4 with 9 knockouts.
Njokuani has the massive edge in striking technical striking against the one-trick-pony Barriault. However, Barrault’s durability and relentless style could open an opportunity against a Dawodu who has struggled with true middleweights in the past. If Barriault can make Njokuani fight in the clinch and wear him down there, he’s got a true chance of winning this bout.
However, I think Njokuani is too sharp for Barriault. Look for Njokuani’s front kicks and counter punching neutralizes Barriault’s forward-moving style.
Prediction: Chidi Njokuani
Alexis Davis is a former Canadian Open grappling champion and former Ragin Wolf women’s bantamweight champion. The 37-year old from Ontario, Canada challenged for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 175 where she was knocked out by Ronda Rousey in just 16 seconds. It has been downhill since then as she is just 4-5 in her last nine bouts. In her last bout, Davis lost on points to Pannie Kianzad at UFC 263.
Davis is 20-11 with two knockouts and eight submission wins. She is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 68 inches.
Julija Stoliarenko is a former Invicta FC bantamweight champion. The 28-year old from Lithuania was also the Celtic Gladiator women’s bantamweight champion in Poland. She joined the UFC in 2020 but lost her first two UFC assignments against Yana Kunitskaya and Julia Avila.
Stoliarenko has a record 9-5 with 8 submission wins. She is 5-7 tall with a reach of 66 inches.
Davis looks to have the edge wherever this fight goes. Her elite Muay Thai is more effective than Stoliarenko’s striking game. Davis is also too smart on the ground to get caught in Stoliarenko’s quick finishes. That said, I don’t like Stoliarenko’s chances in this bout.
Stoliarenko is the bigger fighter and is a tough cookie. But she doesn’t hit hard enough to test Davis’ shaky striking defense. She also doesn’t wrestle enough to put Davis on her back and isn’t as active as Davis with her strikes. I’m seeing Alexis Davis outwork Julija Stoliarenko here.
Prediction: Alexis Davis
Jailton Alameida fought CKC, Cross Fighting Championship, Katana Fight, Shooto Brazil, Fight on MMA, and the PFL before joining the Contender Series last year where he defeated Nasrudin Nasrudinov via submission to earn his UFC contract. This will be his first Octagon assignment and he heads to it with 9 straight wins.
Almeida is 14-2 with five knockouts and nine submission wins. He is 6-3 tall with a reach of 79 inches and is an orthodox fighter.
Danilo Marques is a former Gladiator Combat Fight middleweight champion. The 36-year old from Sao Paulo Brazil joined the UFC in 2020 and won his first two bouts against Khakis Ibragimov and Mike Rodriguez. In his last bout, Marques was knocked out by Kennedy Nzechukwu.
Marques is 11-3 with four knockouts and five submission wins. He stands 6-6 tall with a reach of 77 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Marques knows only one way to fight and that is to take his opponent to the ground. However, Almeida seems to have the advantage there. Almeida’s wrestling and submission games are much superior to Marques’. If his cardio can hold here, this is going to be a clear win for him.
With all due respect to him, I don’t see an avenue where Marques can win this except if Almeida gasses out. Having said that though, I haven’t seen Almeida do so before and he isn’t likely going here. Look for Almeida to keep Marques busy with his submission defense. In the end, he’ll likely catch Marques neck for the submission.
Prediction: Jailton Almeida
Jason Witt was the former Kansas City Fighting Alliance welterweight champion with four successful title defenses. The 35-year old also fought for LFA before joining the UFC in 2020. He is 2-2 inside the UFC Octagon and is coming off a win over Bryan Barberena last July 31 in a Fight of the Night winner.
Witt is 19-7 with 3 knockouts and 8 submission wins. He is 5-10 tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Philip Rowe fought under House of Fame, Battleground MMA, Square Ring Promotions, before appearing in the Contender Series in 2019 where he scored a TKO win over Leon Shahbazyan. Rowe lost his UFC debut against Gabriel Green but recorded a TKO win over Orion Cosce in his most recent appearance.
Rowe is 8-3 with four knockouts and four submission wins. He is 6-3 tall with a reach of 80 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
This should be one fun fight that could go either way as both men have the skills to exploit their opponent’s weak spots. Witt has the wrestling skills to trouble Rowe’s aggressive ground game and his penchant to back himself against the fence. However, Rowe has an impressive gas tank and ability to brawl which could be an issue for Witt’s granite chin.
It won’t be a surprise to see Witt outwrestle Rowe for the win here. However, I think before he does that, Row catches him clean with something big that ends his night early. Rowe keeps it standing and gets the knockout.
Prediction: Philip Rowe
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