As the MMA world continues to gasp in awe of the possible Knockout of the Year delivered by Joaquin Buckley on UFC Fight Island 5, we look ahead to Saturday night where Brian Ortega will finally face The Korean Zombie.
The main card opens when Thomas Almeida(21-3) looks to get back in the win column against Jonathan Martinez(12-3). Almeida has lost his last two fights with his most recent being in 2018 where he lost via TKO to Rob Font. Martinez has been the active fighter fighting in August where he beat Frankie Saenz via TKO.
This will be an interesting fight, but I think Almeida has the advantage in the striking and see him winning with a second-round TKO.
The next bout is a Light Heavyweight clash where Jimmy ‘The Brute’ Crute(11-1) takes on ‘The Baltic Gladiator’ Modestas Bukauskas(11-2). Bukauskas is riding a seven-fight win streak, the most recent being in his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis. Crute is 4-1 in his last five and won his last bout where he defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission.
This is a great matchup stylistically. Bukauskas continues to ride the momentum and takes the win home with a third-round KO finish.
Jessica Andrade(20-8) returns to the octagon after suffering a split decision loss to Rose Namajunas in July. She faces Katlyn Chookagian(14-3) who won her previous fight against Antonina Shevchenko in May. I might be overlooking Chookagian here, but this fight feels like it’s going to be one-sided. Andrade will use her boxing and even if Chookagian does take her down, Andrade has a black belt in BJJ to fall back on. ‘The Blonde Fighter’ is yet to finish an opponent in the UFC.
Andrade wins via first round TKO.
Two Heavyweights feature in the co-main event when Croatian Ante Delija(17-3) makes his UFC debut against Ciryl Gane(6-0). Delija appears to be a well-rounded fighter who trains with Crocop Top Team and sports the nickname ‘Walking Trouble’. He is 4-1 in his last five with his last defeat coming in 2015. Gane is undefeated across the board, in his Muay Thai career, and his MMA career. His most recent win come against Tanner Boser in December 2019, where he picked up the decision.
Gane continues his unbeaten record and wins via decision.
Fans will look forward to the main event as it has been some time in the making. Brian ‘T-City’ Ortega(14-1) was originally scheduled to face ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung(16-5) in December 2019, but Ortega pulled out due to a knee injury. There is bad blood between both men as Ortega slapped Jay Park, a friend of Korean Zombie, at UFC 248. This prompted Zombie to take to Instagram and blast Ortega for his actions with a promise to knock him out and make his face bloody.
Ortega hasn’t fought since 2018 where he lost to Max Holloway via TKO. It’s uncertain how the time off will play against him, but if he is to beat Korean Zombie, he needs to use his Jiu-Jitsu to get it done. Zombie has evolved a lot since his WEC days and I think he gets the job done with his striking. Zombie is not to be taken lightly on the ground neither as he holds 8 submission wins in his career.
The Korean Zombie finishes Ortega with a second-round TKO.
If past events have taught us anything it’s to never overlook the prelims. We will take a look at some standout fights.
Said Nurmagomedov(13-2) will open the prelims when he welcomes UFC newcomer and submission artist, Mark Striegl(18-2). Nurmagomedov will want to utilise his impressive takedown defence and keep this fight standing. Of course, Striegl will want to play to his strengths and seek a submission.
Nurmagomedov wins via decision.
Claudio Silva(14-1) squares off against James Krause(27-8) where both men will get into a technical fight as they hunt for the submission. With a lot of there finishes coming via submission, it might force them to stand and fight. Silva is unbeaten in his last fourteen fights while Krause lost a decision in his last fight to Trevin Giles.
Krause uses his experience in this one and gets the win via decision.
‘The Savage’ Gillian Robertson(8-4) takes on Poliana Botelho(8-2) in a striker versus grappler battle. Both women are coming off of wins in their previous fights
Botelho wins via first round TKO.
The featured prelim sees two fighters make their UFC debut when Mateusz Gamrot(17-0) takes on Guram Kutateladze(11-2), Kutateladze is also unbeaten in his last 8 fights.
This will be a very good fight. Gamrot improves his undefeated record with a win via second-round submission.
What fights are you excited for? Leave a comment.
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