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UFC Fight Night 122 goes down at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai, China on November 25th.
The event will see a riskily quick turnaround for former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping; who faces the ever-dangerous Kelvin Gastelum.
Furthermore, UFC Shanghai’s co-headliner has Chinese KO artist Li Jingliang compete against Zak Ottow. The rest of the card features several unheralded, but potential future stars. So, without further ado, here are the predictions and preview for UFC Fight Night 122: Bisping vs. Gastelum—
*Indian fans can watch UFC Fight Night 122: Bisping vs Gastelum from 5:30 pm on Saturday, November 25th only on SONY ESPN & SONY ESPN HD*
#Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
#1 Michael Bisping vs, Kelvin Gastelum
Michael Bisping is an excellent fighter, and if it weren’t for his significant age disadvantage and recent war with GSP, I’d pick the Count to defeat Kelvin Gastelum.
Nevertheless, Bisping couldn’t possibly be at a hundred percent just weeks after his 3-round battle with Georges St-Pierre earlier this month. Add to that the fact that Gastelum is no slouch and almost knocked out Chris Weidman in his last fight, all signs point toward Bisping getting finished.
Expect Gastelum to start off in his trademark frenetic style; tagging Bisping while making the latter miss. He’d then catch Bisping at boxing range; knock him down and finish off the fight with follow-up strikes; handing the Count his second consecutive loss within the span of a month.
Prediction: Kelvin Gastelum def. Michael Bisping via TKO
#2 Li Jingliang vs. Zak Ottow
Li is a deadly knockout artist, and against someone with a relatively basic striking defence like Ottow, it’ll show.
Fans can expect the Chinese standout to gauge his foe’s timing and distance in the first half of the fight; before closing the distance and trouncing Ottow on the feet.
Prediction: Li Jingliang def. Zak Ottow via KO
#3 Wang Guan vs. Alex Caceres
This is Caceres’ fight to lose; given the fact that he’s better not only on the ground but also in the standup department as well.
Guan may look a bit threatening in the early going but will eventually fade in the face of Caceres’ volume and tenacity. However, fans can expect this fight to go the distance; considering Guan’s durability.
Prediction: Alex Caceres def. Wang Guan via Decision
#4 Muslim Salikhov vs. Alex Garcia
Garcia is a much better fighter than Salikhov, however, the latter has somewhat of an immovable object feel to his overall MMA game, which sort of allows him to take tremendous amounts of damage without going out.
Garcia is likely to outclass Salikhov in every aspect of this fight; including the transitions between the standup and the ground. Garcia may finish him in the latter stretch of the fight, but that seems highly unlikely, hence a decision win for the former would be the safe bet.
Prediction: Alex Garcia def. Muslim Salikhov via Decision
#Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
#1 Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Sheymon Moraes
Magomedsharipov may very well capture UFC gold in the next year or two.
He’s an extremely dangerous striker and deceptively strong grappler. Magomedsharipov will dominate this matchup en route to another highlight reel finish—dropping Moraes with a punch and finishing business on the ground.
Now, bear in mind that Moraes isn’t exactly a bad fighter, but when someone is as well-rounded and composed as Magomedsharipov, anyone would have an uphill task while going up against a killer as such.
Prediction: Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Sheymon Moraes via TKO
#2 Kenan Song vs. Bobby Nash
Nash seems to leave his chin up in the air and does so with reckless intent in the midst of a firefight.
Now, Song isn’t the biggest puncher out there, but when one connects flush on the chin; bodies go limp! Expect Song to catch Nash coming in, and it’s only due to the former’s lack of finishing power that this fight is likely to see the final bell.
Prediction: Kenan Song def. Bobby Nash via Decision
#3 Kailin Curran vs. Yan Xiaonan
Kailin Curran seems to be one of those fighters that never quite showcase their complete skill-set inside the Octagon.
Nevertheless, against Yan, one can expect Kailin to open up and let go of her strikes without much fear of significant retaliation. Kailin is likely to control the pace of the fight with her high-volume strikes; before taking things to the mat and finishing of Yan; potentially with a Rear Naked Choke.
Prediction: Kailin Curran def. Yan Xiaonan via Submission
#4 Yadong Song vs. Bharat Khandare
Bharat Khandare creates history at UFC Shanghai as he becomes the first Indian-born MMA fighter to compete in the UFC.
Khandare seems to be coming along well on both the striking and grappling fronts, and although Song may not be a dangerous finisher, this fight will be a war, given both fighters’ respective level of experience being on par. Khandare will likely impress the judges with his immaculate grappling over the course of 3 rounds; walking away with the decision.
Prediction: Bharat Khandare def. Yadong Song via Decision
#5 Chase Sherman vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
All signs point to Chase Sherman absolutely running over Shamil Abdurakhimov.
However, in a Heavyweight fight, one punch can change everything. Neither Sherman nor Abdurakhimov have great defense on the feet.
Both fighters are decent grapplers and that in turn will make for an interesting fight…possibly a tactical chess match between the two in the grappling department. Regardless, the safe bet would be Sherman finishing Abdurakhimov; catching the latter in the early exchanges on the feet.
Prediction: Chase Sherman def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO
#6 Yanan Wu vs. Gina Mazany
Gina Mazany’s overall MMA game is steadily developing, and although she doesn’t seem to have reached her true potential yet, the fighter is more than capable of besting Yanan Wu.
Look for Mazany to out-strike Wu; overwhelming the latter with high-volume striking. With the grappling exchanges being somewhat even-steven, the judges are likely to sway in favor of Mazany.
Prediction: Gina Mazany def. Yanan Wu Via Decision
#7 Wuliji Buren vs. Rolando Dy
Buren and Dy are our typical MMA scrappers; with relatively less focus on the defensive aspect of their standup game.
Dy seems to be the more refined of the duo, and come fight night, it’ll show. The fight is likely to be somewhat slow-paced, with Dy edging this one on the scorecards.
Prediction: Rolando Dy def. Wuliji Buren via Decision
#8 Cyril Asker vs. Yaozong Hu
Cyril Asker should take this fight easily.
Now, although Hu is somewhat of unproven goods in the big leagues of MMA, in the division of giants, anything can happen. That said, Asker is still the better overall MMA fighter, and will finish Hu should he catch him at boxing range.
Prediction: Cyril Asker def. Yaozong Hu via KO
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