The UFC puts up shop at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on June 17th with a Fight Night card headlined by former UFC Bantamweight Champion and recent UFC Featherweight title challenger, Holly Holm, taking on former UFC Bantamweight title challenger, Bethe Correia.
Elsewhere on the main card, Heavyweight legend Andrei Arlovski takes on Polish Heavyweight standout Marcin Tybura.
Furthermore, UFC Welterweight veteran Dong Hyun Kim does battle with rising star Colby Covington. Besides, the main card featuring the aforementioned matchups is set to commence with former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos, who moves to an upper weight class and intends to test the waters at 170 pounds against Welterweight mainstay Tarec Saffiedine.
Additionally, the prelims will be capped off with a bout featuring MMA legend Takanori Gomi who’ll face Jon Tuck. It’s intriguing to note that although the rest of the Preliminary card for this event does not boast the same star power that we have come to expect of UFC’s hard-hitting Fight Night cards – that, oddly enough, have proven to be much entertaining than most of the PPVs this year – UFC Fight Night 111 will feature matchups with a few no-name fighters that have the potential to be scrappy and fun.
So without further ado here are our predictions and preview for UFC Fight Night:
#1 Holly Holm vs Bethe Correia
When it’s all said and done, Holly Holm will most definitely go down as one of the greatest to ever lace up the gloves – both in boxing and MMA.
Nevertheless, when we talk about the here-and-now, Holm’s career is in a relatively bad spot, especially given the fact that she was being heralded by many as the Women’s MMA GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) following her victory over Ronda Rousey and is now on a horrible losing streak.
On the other hand, Correia is… well, Correia.
On paper, this should be a wash for Holm. In my opinion, if Holm steps on the gas right from the get-go, she has the potential to obliterate Correia.
Nevertheless, the Preacher’s Daughter will start this bout cautious, as she always does, measuring the distance with her jab and throwing a ton of feints. Eventually, the former boxing world champion will find her rhythm and dictate the pace of the fight, irrespective of the trademark Correia flurries, wherein the Brazilian comes charging in with no regard for her own defence.
Holm will piece Bethe up and score an eventual TKO or maybe, just maybe, score a clean KO win similar to her iconic performance against Rousey.
Prediction: Holly Holm def. Bethe Correia via TKO.
#2 Andrei Arlovski vs Marcin Tybura
Firstly, I’d like to thank the Pitbull for all the years of entertainment and wild fights that he’s given us. But with that being said, I can’t help but see this fight being Arlovski’s last in his current UFC run.
Andrei has taken a ton of damage over the course of his last few fights and has been brutally stopped in all of them, including his submission loss to Josh Barnett – a fight in which Arlovski took a ton of damage via strikes before being submitted.
On the other hand, there’s Tybura who, mind you, is no slouch, on the ground or on the feet. His only losses in MMA are a decision to Timothy Johnson and a TKO (Doctor Stoppage) loss to Stephan Puetz in 2015.
I see this fight starting out with Arlovski moving his feet well and tagging Tybura with a few decent shots. Nevertheless, Tybura will find his mark as and when both fighters settle into the rhythm of the fight he’ll crack Arlovski with a clean strike when the latter enters punching range, and likely hand another TKO loss to the former UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Prediction: Marcin Tybura def. Andrei Arlovski via TKO
#3 Dong Hyun Kim vs Colby Covington
Dong Hyun Kim still remains one of the top-15 fighters in the UFC Welterweight division; he only loses to the elite, with the occasional loss to a mid-tier fighter.
On the other hand, Colby Covington is a man who seems to be following the McGregor model of trash-talking in pursuit of big money fights.
Covington is a decent striker, but his bread and butter remain his grappling – a sphere where Kim is no slouch either. I see the grappling being even in this matchup, with the deciding factor being who pushes the pace and controls the striking aspect of the matchup.
As much as I’d like to see the 170-pound division get a new prospect, I see DHK derailing the CC hype train here, that is if it wasn’t already derailed by Warlley Alves at UFC 194.
Prediction: Dong Hyun Kim def. Colby Covington via decision
#4 Tarec Saffiedine vs Rafael Dos Anjos
I never thought I’d be writing about this, but the fight game is as unpredictable as a pet alligator and here we are in 2017 talking about the man whom we’d touted to be the Lightweight king who’ll reign for a long time at 155.
Tarec is by no means an easy welcome fight to 170 pounds for RDA. Saffiedine is an excellent kickboxer with the only knock on him being that he doesn’t possess finishing power in his strikes.
Dos Anjos seemed to have recovered well from his LW title loss to Eddie Alvarez, and went toe-to-toe with the Boogeyman at Lightweight, Tony Ferguson.
Dos Anjos ended up on the wrong side of the decision handed down by the judges in the Ferguson fight, but I truly believe RDA will overwhelm Tarec with the ridiculous pace and unbridled aggression that made him the terror that he once was at Lightweight.
With the slight grappling edge going to RDA, I see him outpointing Tarec to a clear-cut decision win.
Prediction: Rafael Dos Anjos def. Tarec Saffiedine via decision.
Prelims
#1 Takanori Gomi vs Jon Tuck
Takanori Gomi is a legend of the sport and no matter what happens from this point moving forward, he’ll go down in the annals of MMA as one of the most creative to have ever practised the Savage Science.
Now with that being said, I see Jon Tuck picking Gomi apart in this matchup, and by picked apart, I mean he will piece up and eventually finish Gomi.
A few years back, this fight would’ve been a wash for Takanori Gomi, but in 2017 we’ll see Tuck break him down and score a TKO via ground-and-pound or a late submission.
Prediction: Jon Tuck def. Takanori Gomi via TKO
#2 Cyril Asker vs Walt Harris
Yet another battle of giants, this matchup differs from the aforementioned Arlovski-Tybura clash in the sense that both Asker and Harris aren’t separated by too much come fight night.
On paper, this is a fight that Harris should take, however, given the man’s past tendencies to leave himself open to strikes at close-to-mid-range, don’t be surprised if Asker sleeps Harris with a grazing shot to the dome.
I see both fighters coming out tentative, with Harris eventually securing the finish – that is if he stays cautious in the pocket.
Prediction: Walt Harris def. Cyril Asker via KO
#3 Alex Caceres vs Rolando Dy
Alex Caceres is a good fighter, with decent striking and grappling, but so is Rolando Dy.
In my opinion, this matchup will be decided by the fighter whose work-rate prevails over the course of three rounds. And the answer to that is likely Alex Caceres, who, I feel, will outpoint Dy to a clear-cut decision win.
Prediction: Alex Caceres def. Rolando Dy via Decision
#4 Justin Scoggins vs Ulka Sasaki
Justin Scoggins is a scrappy fighter and can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the division, including the divisional elite.
Nevertheless, Sasaki is by no means a slouch with regards to his all-round MMA skillset, however – and this is something that Sasaki has been criticised for time and again – he tends to give away advantageous positions both on the feet as well as the mat to his opponents.
Despite Sasaki’s apparently low ring-IQ, I still see this matchup being somewhat close, with Scoggins pulling away in the end.
Prediction: Justin Scoggins def. Ulka Sasaki via Decision
#5 Li Jingliang vs Frank Camacho
Li is an extremely gifted fighter in many regards and I truly believe that if given the right coaching and steadily difficult matchups by the UFC, he’d turn into a huge star for the organisation.
Jingliang has got excellent striking and grappling and can, by all means, end the fight with Camacho on the feet. Nevertheless, I see Jingliang wearing Camacho down with superior striking and wrestling basics, scoring a clear-cut decision or a late TKO finish.
Prediction: Li Jingliang def. Frank Camacho via TKO
#6 Kwan Ho Kwak vs Russell Doane
Kwan Ho Kwak carries a lot of power in his hands and come fight night, it’ll show.
Russell Doane is a decent MMA fighter but may not be able to survive the storm that Kwak offers, especially in the early stages of the fight. Kwak is likely to find his range and hammer Doane for a TKO finish.
Prediction: Kwan Ho Kwak def. Russell Doane via TKO
#7 Naoki Inoue vs Carls John de Tomas
Naoki Inoue has all the tools to be a future star, but as of now, he still has a long road to tread in order to get there.
Tomas is a good grappler but so is Inoue. I see both fighters’ grappling cancel each other out, with Inoue running away with the W on the judges’ scorecards.
Prediction: Naoki Inoue def. Carls John de Tomas via Decision
#8 Ji Yeon Kim vs Lucie Pudilova
Ji Yeon Kim is a decent WMMA fighter with… well, your typical WMMA strategy – strike at range, look for the clinch, rinse, repeat.
Now by no means is that a knock on Kim, as she’s more than well-rounded and can surely go the distance in this one.
On the other hand, Lucie Pudilova has excellent hands. Given the fact that all other facets of WMMA seem to be at a higher level than the boxing department – except maybe Holly Holm – Pudilova is someone who can take the art of throwing hands in WMMA to the next level if she stays true to herself over the next 4-5 years.
Pudilova will outwork Kim and get the judges’ nod.
Prediction: Lucie Pudilova def. Ji Yeon Kim via Decision
