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UFC 229 is now only a week away, and UFC fans have never been more hyped about a UFC card before. Featuring the returning Conor McGregor, the undefeated current UFC Lightweight Champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the feud between the two has reached ballistic proportions and seems ready to explode.
Be it the incident with the infamous dolly, or even Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC 229 Presser, the fighters have been at each other's throats. Both of them are currently some of the top stars on UFC's roster, and whoever wins the UFC Lightweight Championship bout will end up establishing themselves as possibly the best fighter in their division.
With all this at stake and more, the main event has attracted its share of attention. Unfortunately, something that has evaded mainstream attention is the fact that the rest of the card has been ignored despite being one of the best cards of recent time.
The card for UFC 229 is littered with big name fighters, whose fights are likely to be extremely consequential as we head towards the pay-per-view.
We have already done a prediction for the Early Preliminary Card which you can check out here, as some of the top fighters in Mixed Martial Arts square off on the card.
In this article, we will take a look at the predictions for the Preliminary Card, and take a look at all three fights on the card.
#1. Aspen Ladd vs. Tonya Evinger:
A comparatively new fighter in Mixed Martial Arts, with only six fights under her belt in the professional scene, Aspen Ladd is set to take on a veteran of the sport, with 26 fights, Tonya Evinger.
Aspen Ladd has had a good start in her UFC career so far, defeating a wild Lina Lansburg in her first fight for the company. In her second fight, she will look to pick up her second straight win in the company and continue her undefeated run in MMA.
Despite being a veteran of the sport, Tonya Evinger has only been in one other UFC fight as well, and things did not end well for her in it, as she faced Cris Cyborg, and was knocked out in the third round.
Evinger is no pushover, despite the loss, and Aspen will have to be careful when she faces her. While most of Aspen's fights have ended in Knockouts, Evinger almost has an equal number of wins by KO, Submissions, and Decisions, at eight, seven, and four respectively.
Predictions: Aspen Ladd defeats Tonya Evinger
#2. Vicente Luque vs. Jalin Turner:
Since his debut in the UFC, Vicente Luque has had a good run. Although his debut did not go as planned, where he lost his fight in the Ultimate Fighter, since then he has submitted and knocked out other fighters on his way to the top. He has lost only two of his fights since joining UFC.
On the other side of things, Jalin Turner has been one of the more prolific fighters in his career. He fought in Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series recently, where he won his fight. In his entire professional career, he has lost only 3 fights to his seven wins. Of those only one went to decision, and that's the one he lost.
Vicente, has a similar trait, with the two fights that he lost since his debut also being the ones that went to decision, with all the others ending via submission or knockout. If nothing else, this fight will be ending fast.
Result: Vicente Luque defeats Jalin Turner
#3. Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga:
A fight that was supposed to take place in January of 2017, but had to be postponed due to injury, the duo are finally meeting in the Octagon more than one and a half years later.
Pettis is a veteran of the game, with 11 fights under his belt since coming to the UFC, with only two losses to his name. On the other side of things, Formiga has 11 fights in the UFC as well, but his career has seemed to always brink near the mid card, never rising further.
While Pettis won his last fight at UFC 225 in June, Formiga has not fought since his UFC 221 victory. While Pettis heavily relies on decisions for wins, Formiga's striking game is not too strong, and he relies on his ground game, with 10 wins in his career via submission, and zero via knockout.
Pettis will have to keep an eye out for Formiga's ground game, and if he is able to ward him off, he should win.
Prediction: Jussier Formiga defeats Sergio Pettis
#4. Jose Alberto Quinonez vs. Sean O'Malley:
With five fights in the UFC under his belt, Jose Alberto Quinonez can no longer be considered a newcomer to the company. Other than his debut, which ended in a bad loss for him, he has been consistent, notching up four wins. His last victory came at UFC 221, where he defeated Teruto Ishihara.
On the other side, Sean O'Malley fought in Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, where he won, before making his debut for UFC. He won both fights he was a part of, with his last victory coming at UFC 222. He now has a 10-0 professional record.
Quinonez will have to avoid O'Malley's strikes, as the fighter depends heavily on strikes for his wins, while he himself is one who is more reliant on decisions.
Prediction: Sean O'Malley defeats Jose Alberto Quinonez
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