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After a weekend with no UFC event, the world’s biggest MMA promotion is back this Saturday with its latest Fight Night.
Scheduled for the Las Vegas APEX, UFC Fight Night: Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi is not the strongest card in terms of name value, but it should hopefully produce some fun fights.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi.
#1. UFC flyweight bout: Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi
With the UFC flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja set for this summer, it feels like there’s a new, post-Deiveson Figueiredo era beginning at 125lbs.
With that considered, this clash between Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi could well end up deciding the next title challenger. Kara-France was last seen in a losing effort against Moreno last summer, but he’s still ranked highly at No.3, and has big wins over the likes of Cody Garbrandt and Askar Askarov.
Albazi, meanwhile, is still unbeaten in the octagon at 4-0. He’s also finished three of those bouts, and last defeated Alessandro Costa via KO.
The native of Iraq is not as proven at the top level as Kara-France, that’s for sure. His best opponent to date was probably Francisco Figueiredo, and it’s safe to say he’s not close to the level of his brother.
‘The Prince’ is definitely a dangerous fighter, though. He doesn’t have many weaknesses, as he possesses quick hands, heavy punching power and an underrated, dangerous ground game. In fact, despite attempts to sell him as a striker, he’s actually got nine wins via submission.
Kara-France is similarly well-rounded. He’s more than capable of taking out his opponents via knockout or submission, and since arriving in the UFC in 2018, he seems sounder defensively than he once was.
However, ‘Don’t Blink’ still leaves himself open with his wild attacks at times, and against a fighter as smooth as Albazi, that could be fatal. If ‘The Prince’ can catch him with something big, or can spot a opening on the ground, Kara-France could well be toast.
Overall this is a remarkably tricky fight to pick, purely because neither man holds a major advantage over the other in any single area.
With that said, Kara-France has not fought since his big loss to Moreno, while Albazi is riding a massive wave of confidence and probably feels unbeatable right now.
‘Don’t Blink’ is the safer pick, but as he’s been around for a surprisingly long time now, turning professional in 2010, he could be on the downswing. The pick, therefore, is Albazi via TKO.
The Pick: Albazi via second-round TKO
#2. UFC featherweight bout: Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
This weekend’s co-main event features a pair of real veterans in the featherweight division. Neither man can be considered a contender any more despite one being ranked in the top fifteen, but this should be a fun fight nonetheless.
Of the two, Alex Caceres is perhaps both closer to his prime and more proven in the UFC. ‘Bruce Leeroy’ was once considered a joke character coming off his TUF run, but that run came nearly 13 years ago now.
Since that point, Caceres has developed a dangerous game in all areas, capable of taking out his opponents with an underrated, lengthy striking game, and a tricky submission arsenal too.
‘Bruce Leeroy’ still leaves himself wide open, and his lack of durability can often cause him issues. However, he’s 6-1 in his last seven bouts, explaining why he’s ranked at No.15 right now.
Daniel Pineda, on the other hand, looked all but finished when he washed out of the promotion on a run of 1-4 back in 2014.
Since then, though, ‘The Pit’ has recovered nicely. After returning to the octagon in 2020, he’s beaten both Herbert Burns and Tucker Lutz, although he was stopped by Cub Swanson in their fight.
A consummate finisher, Pineda has never gone to decision in any of his wins. He holds 19 tapout victories to his name and nine knockouts.
Despite this, his aggression can be used against him. Swanson caught him cold on the counter, for instance, although it’s definitely worth pointing out that Caceres is nowhere near the boxer that Swanson is.
Pineda also has six losses via submission, though, which could be worrying for him against a sneaky grappler like ‘Bruce Leeroy’.
Basically, this fight features two highly skilled, yet highly flawed fighters. Overall, though, Caceres has been on the slightly better run, is probably closer to his athletic prime, and seems more suited to capitalising on an error. Therefore, the pick is ‘Bruce Leeroy’ via submission.
The Pick: Caceres via second-round submission
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a lightweight clash, veteran Jim Miller welcomes Jared Gordon to the octagon. At the age of 39 and with 41 bouts in the octagon under his belt, it’s hard to see how much longer Miller can keep fighting for. However, he’s still a very slick grappler, a dangerous puncher, and he’s won three of his last four.
Gordon is a solid fighter in his own right, but ‘Flash’ doesn’t stand out in any one area. It’s hard to imagine him being able to use his grinding clinch game to get past Miller, and he doesn’t seem explosive enough to take the veteran out. The pick is Miller via submission.
In a flyweight bout, Tim Elliott faces Victor Altamirano. Elliott has made the headlines recently for some bad reasons – an apparent affair between his wife and one of his training partners. However, he’s still a very tricky veteran with finishing skills on the ground in particular.
Altamirano is nowhere near as experienced as Elliott, and although he’s looked good in the octagon thus far, whether he has the skills to edge past the veteran is questionable. It’s a close call but the pick is Elliott via decision.
In the flyweight division, Karine Silva faces Ketlen Souza. The flyweight division remains relatively thin and so any fight between relative UFC newcomers like these two is a tricky one to pick.
However, Silva has two fights in the octagon to Souza’s none, and looked great in both. ‘Killer’ has also finished all 15 of her victories in MMA. The pick, therefore, is Silva via TKO.
Finally, it’s a battle of striker vs. grappler in the lightweight division, as Jamie Mullarkey takes on Guram Kutateladze. Kutateladze lost his last fight, but prior to that, ‘The Georgian Viking’ looked like a great prospect, with heavy hands and a stifling wrestling game.
Mullarkey will undoubtedly look to avoid the takedown if he wants to win this one, but his takedown defense may simply not be good enough to do so. Add in Kutateladze’s own heavy punches, and the pick here is the Georgian via decision.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC welterweight bout: Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
UFC bantamweight bout: John Castaneda vs. Mateus Mendonca
UFC heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski vs. Don’Tale Mayes
UFC strawweight bout: Elise Reed vs. Jinh Yu Frey
UFC bantamweight bout: Daniel Santos vs. Johnny Munoz Jr.
UFC bantamweight bout: Da’Mon Blackshear v. Luan Lacerda
UFC light-heavyweight bout: Philipe Lins vs. Maxim Grishin
