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The Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title contender, No. 7 ranked Welterweight Demian Maia, will look for a second straight win before his Home Crowd this weekend (Sun., March 22, 2015, 4:30 a.m. IST) inside Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Facing him in the main event is No. 14 ranked Welterweight prospect, Ryan LaFlare, who has defeated all four of his UFC opponents.Here is my Preview of the Main Card & predictions for the entire UFC FN 62: Undercard:PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 4:30 a.m. IST)Christos Giagos Defeats Jorge de Oliveira via KO/TKO.Fredy Serrano Defeats Bentley Syler via Decision. PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 2, 5:30 a.m. IST)Francisco Trinaldo Defeats Akbarh Arreola via Decision.Kevin Souza Defeats Katsunori Kikuno via KO/TKO.Leandro Silva Defeats Drew Dober via Decision.Leonardo Mafra Defeats Cain Carrizosa via KO/TKO. Main Card: (Sony Six HD/Fox Sports 1, 7:30 a.m. IST) :-
#1 Andre Fili (14-2) vs. Godofredo Pepey (11-3)
Pepey is one of the best Prospects coming off TUF: Brazil 1. After initial setbacks inside the octagon, he is coming to his own & has won his last two fights impressively. His opponent Fili is an exciting Featherweight Prospect who comes from one of the best camps for smaller weight class Team Alpha Male home to UFC Bantamweight champ T.J Dillashaw.
Both Pepey & Fili both are well-rounded fighters. No matter where the fight takes place you should see some quality back n forth exchanges. I don’t expect a finish here, but Fili should dominate pepey on feet with quicker hands, better feet movement & better wrestling. Pepey can sure surprise as he is a dangerous fighter and can catch fili off-guard but I would still count on the more technical fighter out of the two.
Prediction: Fili wins via Decision.
#2 Gilbert Burns (9-0) vs. Alex Oliveira (10-1)
Burns is 2-0 in the UFC. A member of the Blackzilians, the 28-year-old Brazilian is one of the most accomplished grapplers in the UFC lightweight division and is a very high-level BJJ black belt on the ground. He has won five fights in his MMA career by submission, & 3 by TKO which shows he is a very well rounded fighter. His opponent this week Oliveira is making his UFC debut on short notice, filling in for an injured Josh Thomson. A Muay-Thai striker, Brazilian Oliveira has eight career knockouts & He is undefeated in his last eight fights. Oliveira is still new to this sport, having begun his pro career in 2011, and he could become a decent lightweight fighter with experience in time.
Oliveira is actually a pretty decent prospect, but this is just a terrible matchup for him whether it is by submission or TKO, I really like Burns to win this fight before the final bell.
Prediction: Burns wins via Submission
#3 Tony Martin (9-2) vs. Leonardo Santos (13-3-1)
Santos, the winner of TUF: Brazil Season 2 is 2-0-1 in the UFC. Martin is coming off a surprising submission win against Fabricio Camoes after losing two straight. In this fight Santos should score enough on the feet and achieve plenty of ground control. At some point, this bout is going to go to the ground. And when it does, Santos will have definite edge. It won't be too flashy and I fully expect Martin to turns this into a gritty fight that Santos struggles to win.
Prediction: Santos wins via Decision.
#4 Shayna Baszler (15-9) vs. Amanda Nunes (9-4)
One of the members of four horse women Shayna Baszler, one of the pioneer of women’s MMA is facing a younger opponent in Amanda Nunes. The 34-year-old American Baszler competed on TUF 18 where she lost in unexpected fashion to eventual winner Julianna Pena and then she lost in her UFC debut via TKO to Bethe Correia. Baszler is a legit grappler and has won 14 fights in her career by submission, but other than her submission prowess she doesn’t offer up much else in her game. Her striking is not great, her cardio is poor, and her wrestling isn’t as effective as it once was. This fight with Nunes seems a very unfavorable matchup for her. The 26-year-old Brazilian is a very effective wrestler and once she establishes top control she rains down ground and pound like not many other women can in the UFC women’s BW division. She has won eight fights via TKO in her career.
I Expect Nunes to come out like a bull and dominate Baszler wherever the fight goes and it would really surprise me if the fight doesn’t end in the very first round.
.Prediction: Nunes wins via TKO.
#5 Josh Koscheck (17-9) vs. Erick Silva (17-5-1)
In the co-main event Koscheck will be facing Eric silva. Koscheck was a cast member on season one of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and has since gone on to post a 15-9 record in the UFC Now 37, the American is one the last legs of his career and has lost his last four. He just completed last month at UFC 184, getting choked out in brutal fashion by Jake Ellenberger, Koscheck looked like a shell of his former self against Ellenberger he was very hesitant to engage on the feet and looked completely lost in the cage. This is apparently Koscheck’s last fight before retirement and he wants to end his career on a win. Silva, on the other hand, has struggled to find consistency in the octagon. He has big power in his strikes, but he is not very technical and tends to load up on his shots. He is not much of a combination puncher and does not use feints much. His biggest problem has always been his poor conditioning, which is something Koscheck will most likely try to exploit. Silva is extremely explosive and dangerous in the first round, and Koscheck’s ability to absorb damage and defend strikes properly has seriously deteriorated.
Silva is a very talented fighter, an extremely-explosive athlete, the 30-year-old Brazilian is a true finisher, having won 10 fights via submission and another four via TKO in his career, but he has some big holes in his game. All of his UFC wins have come in the first round; he has lost every single fight that has gone past the first round. Koscheck has a chance to win if he can survive the first round and use his wrestling to wear Silva down. However, I do not think Koscheck will be able to survive the first round. I don’t think Koscheck is still capable of competing at an elite level and this should be his last fight in the octagon.
Prediction: Silva wins via submission.
#6 Demian Maia (19-6) vs. Ryan LaFlare (11-0)
In the main event of the evening veteran of the sport Demian Maia will take on upcoming welterweight prospect Ryan LaFlare. LaFlare is 4-0 in the UFC the 31-year-old American has an excellent wrestling base and is able to take down most of his opponents and control them on the ground. He has a solid kickboxing attack to go along with his wrestling, but it’s mostly a volume-based attack but he lacks power behind his strikes. Prior to the UFC, he had finished all seven of his opponents, but since joining the UFC he has four decision wins.
Maia is 13-6 in the UFC the 37-year-old Brazilian is a grappling wizard and has one of the most impressive ground games the world of MMA has ever seen. He has won nine fights in MMA by submission and anytime his fights go to the ground he is almost always in control. He has very good wrestling as well. Maia doesn’t have great striking, but it’s been getting better over the years I don’t think he’s a contender anymore, but he’s certainly a tough out for these upcoming guys like LaFlae at WW division .
LaFlare is a solid wrestler, but he has been put in bad spots in the past against non-grapplers like Howard, and if Maia gets him in the same spots he could potentially finish this fight. LaFlare has never been in a five round fight before and overall his level of competition has been mediocre and he has shown issues with his defensive grappling and in his cardio. Meanwhile, Maia has been fighting the best of the best for years. He’s an extremely tough fighter and not even opponents like A. Silva, Weidman and MacDonald couldn’t finish him. If this fight stays standing, I’d give the edge in volume to LaFlare, but I think this fight goes to the ground, and I’m going with the Brazilian here to edge out a decision or maybe get a submission late in the fight.
Prediction: Maia wins via submission.
