'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This weekend sees the UFC present its latest event from Las Vegas’ Apex. UFC Fight Night: Aspen Ladd vs. Norma Dumont takes center stage this Saturday.
In terms of name value, this card may be one of the least anticipated of 2021, but hopefully it will still deliver some solid action inside the octagon.
With that in mind, here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Aspen Ladd vs. Norma Dumont.
#1. Aspen Ladd vs. Norma Dumont - UFC women's featherweight
This headline fight was initially supposed to see Norma Dumont taking on former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm. Around a week ago, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ was forced out with an injury.
That left the UFC scrambling for a replacement. Thankfully, Aspen Ladd has agreed to take the fight. It was a move that made sense for a number of different reasons.
Firstly, and probably most importantly, Ladd was forced out of a bantamweight bout earlier this month after a botched weight cut, an incident that probably put her in the UFC’s bad books. By bailing the promotion out like this on late notice, she’ll be right back into their good books.
Secondly, though, after such a bad weight miss, the potential for Ladd to claim a UFC title shot at 135 pounds was fading fast, particularly after she missed the entirety of 2020 due to various issues.
The queue for a shot at Amanda Nunes’ UFC featherweight title, on the other hand, is substantially shorter. In fact, the division doesn’t really have a top contender right now and hasn’t since Nunes dealt with Megan Anderson at UFC 259.
With a win over Dumont here, Ladd could easily leapfrog to the front of the queue and take on Nunes in early 2022, assuming she deals with Julianna Pena’s challenge for her UFC bantamweight crown, of course.
So can Ladd pull this one out? There’s no real reason why she shouldn’t.
Brazil’s Dumont has been with the UFC since early 2020. After a disastrous debut that saw her knocked out by Anderson, she’s won her next two fights against Ashlee Evans-Smith and Felicia Spencer.
Dumont largely outpowered Evans-Smith in their fight, hardly a surprise given she missed weight and was up against a natural 125lber, but her clash with Spencer was more telling. The Brazilian did land some solid strikes on Spencer, but found herself taken down on a handful of occasions and was arguably lucky to walk away with the decision.
The issue she’ll have in this fight is not only the fact that Ladd has far more experience than her, particularly at the elite level, but that Ladd is also an expert grappler with some of the most ruthless ground-and-pound in the UFC. Add in the fact that Ladd won’t be cutting weight coming into the fight and the likelihood is that she’ll come in looking bigger and stronger than ever before, meaning she should be able to overpower Dumont with relative ease.
Unless Ladd is still feeling the effects of the incident that saw her miss weight a few weeks ago, then this should be business as usual for her and should lead her to a showdown with Nunes in the future.
The Pick: Ladd via second-round TKO
Check the Latest UFC Predictions Here
#2. Andrei Arlovski vs. Carlos Felipe - UFC heavyweight
The fact that Andrei Arlovski is still competing in the UFC right now is a miracle in its own right. The former UFC heavyweight champion is now 42 years old. Despite being written off well over a decade ago, he continues to truck away and is actually coming off a win.
Part of the reason for ‘The Pitbull’ being able to stick around so long has to do with his natural athleticism and the fact that he’s kept himself in remarkable shape for a man of his age. Never the most durable heavyweight, Arlovski’s style has changed over the years to essentially protect that weakness.
One of the faster big men in the UFC, he’s now largely a boxing-oriented fighter who will avoid wild exchanges and look to set up his big right hand with quick combinations and movement.
Sure, he can still get cracked, as we saw when Tom Aspinall took him out in 2020, but these days it takes high-level fighters to put him away. In fact, he’s 4-2 in his last six outings and has only lost to Aspinall and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in that time.
It’s probably safe to say that Carlos Felipe is not as good as either of those two fighters. The Brazilian is on a quietly strong run. He’s 3-1 in the UFC and has won his last three, but it’d be hard to argue that he’s been all that impressive.
Unlike other rising stars such as Aspinall and Chris Daukaus, Felipe appears to lack thunderous power in his punches. Due to this, his wins have come via tight decisions, particularly his last two against Justin Tafa and Jake Collier.
The fact that he’s struggled with plodders and doesn’t appear to hit that hard makes him the perfect opponent for Arlovski. He’s unlikely to knock ‘The Pitbull’ out in a rush and is more likely to become the kind of flat-footed brawler, like Philipe Lins or even Ben Rothwell, who Arlovski can still pick apart.
Could we see a finish here? Felipe has never been knocked out, but equally he hasn’t fought an opponent the caliber of Arlovski before. A decision win seems more likely for the former UFC champion, but you never know.
The Pick: Arlovski via unanimous decision
#3. UFC Fight Night: The main card
In a lightweight tilt, longtime UFC veteran Jim Miller will take on newcomer Erick Gonzalez. Miller is clearly not the fighter he once was, hardly surprising at the age of 38. However, he’s still shown himself capable of taking out lower-level opponents.
Is Gonzalez such an opponent? It’s hard to say. ‘The Ghost Pepper’ is 14-5 overall, but certainly hasn’t fought anyone as good as Miller before. In fact, the only notable UFC fighter he took on was Humberto Bandenay, who handed Gonzalez his most recent loss. With that in mind, Miller by submission is the pick.
At flyweight, Mayra Bueno Silva will face Manon Fiorot. A highly accomplished striker, Fiorot looked phenomenal in her octagon debut as she quickly demolished Tabatha Ricci back in June. Silva, meanwhile, has a solid octagon record of 2-1-1, but in all honesty she’s never faced someone as aggressive as Fiorot before. As a grappler, it’s hard to see her taking ‘The Beast’ down. Fiorot via KO is the pick.
Finally, Julian Marquez will fight Jordan Wright in a middleweight bout. Marquez is probably one of the more underrated 185lbers on the roster. A well-rounded fighter, he’s got skills in all areas and is a dangerous finisher. However, he also tends to put on sloppy fights, which may be why he’s under the radar somewhat.
He should have what it takes to deal with Wright, though. A lanky striker, Wright has KO power, but judging by his clash with Joaquin Buckley, isn’t all that durable. Given Marquez’s overall skills and incredible toughness, it’s easy to imagine him smashing his way to a TKO win here.
#4: UFC Fight Night: The prelims
Picks in bold
Middleweight division: Andrew Sanchez vs. Bruno Silva
Welterweight division: Danny Roberts vs. Ramazan Emeev
Women's flyweight division: Sijara Eubanks vs. Luana Carolina
Featherweight division: Nate Landwehr vs. L’udovit Klein
Bantamweight division: Danaa Batgerel vs. Brandon Davis
Women's strawweight division: Istela Nunes vs. Ariane Carnelossi
