An all UFC Fight Pass card is coming to us from Singapore on Saturday early in the morning. The UFC is giving a pretty poor card for Singapore but there are a couple of hidden gems. Holly Holm is taking on Bethe Correia in the main event with a co-main event featuring Andrei Arlovski and Marcin Tybura. The following are previews and predictions for the entirety of the card.
UFC Fight Pass Prelims (4:45 a.m. EST / 1:45 a.m. PST)
Ji Yeon Kim (6-0-2) vs. Lucie Pudilova (6-2) – Women’s Bantamweight Bout
Getting a second shot in the UFC is Lucie Pudilova as she takes on the Korean newcomer in Ji Yeon Kim. Kim is so far undefeated in her MMA career, but her wins have come against questionable competition. Some of the fights have come against veterans and some have come against women who were 1-4 or 0-5. Kim will also be the smaller woman coming into this bout. While Pudilova doesn’t have a much better track record of opponents. She is younger by five years, a couple of inches taller and already has her UFC experience under her belt. These two could be evenly matched, but all signs point to Pudilova getting the W here.
Prediction: Lucie Pudilova via Unanimous Decision
Naoki Inoue (10-0) vs. Carls John De Tomas (6-0) – Flyweight Bout
Two new additions to the flyweight division are taking each other on when undefeated fighters go head to head in Naoki Inoue and Carls John De Tomas. Japanese fighter Inoue is durable and enjoys the ground game more than anything with seven submissions, four by armbar and three by rear-naked choke. He has faced some pretty solid competition in Japan with his last three fights being against fighters with winning records. De Tomas is also undefeated and prefers the ground game. At age 20, De Tomas from the Philippines has the makings to be great, but he needs to face tougher competition and he will do just that in Inoue. Inoue is the same age, but has fought more and had a tougher path to this point, look for him to get the finish.
Prediction:Naoki Inoue via Submission Round 2
Kwan Ho Kwak (9-1) vs. Russell Doane (14-7) – Bantamweight Bout
This is absolutely the last chance for Russell Doane in the UFC, he is 2-4 and is on a four fight losing streak. Doane is strong on the feet but also has a blue belt in BJJ. Kwan Ho Kwak is a beatable opponent for Doane, but that doesn’t mean he will win. Kwak is a striker primarily with some good power and he only lost to Brett Johns who was 12-0 at the time with wins over former UFC competitors. Kwak will keep the fight on the feet and out-strike Doane, ending his UFC dreams.
Prediction: Kwan Ho Kwak via Unanimous Decision
Li Jingliang (12-4) vs. Frank Camacho (20-4) – Welterweight Bout
Frank Camacho is getting his shot in the UFC after a disappointing turn out on season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter” where he almost knocked out Neil Magny before losing to him. It has been five years since then and he is still only 28 years old with 24 fights already. Camacho’s strength is definitely in his hands where he has finished 15 of his 20 wins. In the UFC Li Jingliang has been heavily favoring the stand-up even though he isn’t a slouch on the ground. Jingliang may want to go to the ground this time because even though he has never been knocked out, Camacho has the power to do so. This should be a very entertaining bout and I see Camacho cracking Jingliang and stopping him cold in his tracks.
Prediction: Frank Camacho via KO Round 1
Justin Scoggins (11-3) vs. Ulka Sasaki (19-4-2) – Flyweight Bout
4-3 so far in his UFC career, Justin Scoggins needs a win over the lesser known Ulka Sasaki to stay relevant. Before getting to the UFC Scoggins finished six of his seven wins, but since joining the UFC he has only finished one of four. Scoggins is better on the feet than he is the ground which is why even though Sasaki may not be the same level of some of his opponents, he is dangerous. Sasaki is just 2-3 in the UFC with his wins both coming via rear-naked choke; nine of Sasaki’s ten submissions were rear-naked chokes with only one guillotine. Scoggins will look to strike and Sasaki to grapple and while Scoggins has faced worse, Sasaki will get him down at some point and use his long body to get him down.
Prediction:Ulka Sasaki via Submission Round 2
Alex Caceres (12-10, 1NC) vs. Rolando Dy (8-4-1, 1NC) – Featherweight Bout
It’s been a long career in the UFC for Alex Caceres so far, six years and sixteen fights. Caceres is almost always in an exciting fight, but doesn’t always get the finish. His recent losses have come against some high level fighters in Francisco Rivera, Yair Rodriguez and Jason Knight. Caceres has interesting striking and some solid ground skills, but can be caught in submissions himself. Rolando Dy is getting his chance to make a name off of Caceres here in his debut, but that is a tall order. Dy comes from a strong Muay Thai camp so his striking is pretty good and he is in excellent shape. If Caceres takes this fight down he should have complete control on the ground.
Prediction: Alex Caceres via Unanimous Decision
Cyril Asker (8-2) vs. Walt Harris (9-5) – Heavyweight Bout
A battle on the feet is set to go down with Walt Harris (9 knockouts in 9 wins) taking on Cyril Asker (4 knockouts in 8 wins). Harris is incredibly athletic, but his chin has gotten him caught a pair off times and he can get complacent in his bouts. Cyril Asker has spent just a little over 5 minutes in total in the UFC cage. He has chosen to strike and trade in both of his appearances so far, but can get the job down on the ground. I imagine this won’t last long, but should be pretty fun while it does. Harris is the quicker man and he keeps his UFC dreams alive here.
Prediction: Walt Harris via TKO Round 1
Takanori Gomi (35-12, 1NC) vs. Jon Tuck (9-4) – Lightweight Bout
A loser leaves town match is going down in the main preliminary bout. Takanori Gomi is on a three fight losing streak, once a year since 2014, and all three were by TKO in the first round. Jon Tuck isn’t known for his knockout power, but neither is Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller (both knocked out Gomi). Gomi is favors the striking heavily, but I think Tuck goes in for the takedown early as his most success in the UFC has been on the ground. Three inches in height and reach for Tuck might allow him to strike, but he should play it safe and just go for the takedown. Either way Gomi won’t have much to offer up here at 38 years old on a three fight losing streak.
Prediction: Jon Tuck via Submission Round 2
UFC Fight Pass Main Card (8 a.m. EST / 5 a.m. PST)
(#11) Tarec Saffiedine (16-6) vs. (#5 LW) Rafael Dos Anjos (25-9) – Welterweight Bout
The former lightweight champion is moving up to welterweight after losing two in a row. Rafael Dos Anjos needs to come back into his old self with high volume striking in order to make it back to greatness. Moving up a weight class will leave him being the smaller fighter a lot of the time as he is only 5’8” at 170 lbs. Dos Anjos has gotten stiff in his last couple fights and it cost him against some very dangerous fighters. Tarec Saffiedine has under-performed since joining the UFC and he needs to win here to stay potentially keep his roster slot. He is 2-3 since joining and on a two fight losing streak. Saffiedine has great kick-boxing, but shouldn’t pose much of a threat for Dos Anjos.
Prediction: Rafael Dos Anjos via Unanimous Decision
(#7) Dong Hyun Kim (22-3-1, 1NC) vs. Colby Covington (11-1) – Welterweight Bout
7-1 in his last 8 is Dong Hyun Kim, with his only loss coming against the current champion Tyron Woodley in 2014. Colby Covington is getting a big chance against Kim and has only lost once in his career against Warlley Alves. Covington has great wrestling and ground and pound. Training out of American Top Team, Covington should have the game-plan to get the win against Kim. Kim’s wrestling is fairly high level and has a similar skill-set to Covington, but has more power in his hands. This is Covington’s big break and he grinds the win out from Kim.
Prediction: Colby Covington via Unanimous Decision
(#8) Andrei Arlovski (25-14, 1NC) vs. (#13) Marcin Tybura (15-2) – Heavyweight Bout
When Andrei Arlovski came back to the UFC he won four fights in a row, he then went on to lose the next four all via finishes. He has always been known as a finisher, but now at age 38 he might need to consider hanging up his gloves if he loses to Marcin Tybura. Two fights in a row have seen Tybura finish via knockouts which doesn’t bode well for Arlovski. If Arlovski rocked he is still dangerous, but his chin seems to be failing him and that will likely mean the end of his storied career.
Prediction: Marcin Tybura via TKO Round 1
Holly Holm (10-3) vs. (#11) Bethe Correia (10-2-1) – Women’s Bantamweight Main Event (5 Rounds)
Two women who have been struggling since title fights face off in the main event in Singapore with Holly Holm and Bethe Correia going head to head. Holm recently challenged for a meaningless featherweight championship when that has been the only fight in that division. Correia fought Marion Reneau to a majority draw (almost a split decision loss) so it is clear that both women are having a difficult time in their careers as of late.
Holly Holm has lost back to back bouts since losing her title to Miesha Tate, both being via decision. A well renowned boxer, Holm has seen the highest highs in the UFC and is might just see the lowest lows, especially with a fourth loss in a row here. She should really be able to beat Correia to the punch, she just needs to keep her at bay and not clinch up with her a whole lot. If it stays standing she should really be in her comfort zone as long as she keeps good distance and stays busy.
When things go well for Correia, she looks like she belongs in there with the best, but she can also look like a fairly green fighter in certain aspects. She narrowly won her last win against Jessica Eye and got a draw in her last fight. 1-2-1 in her last four doesn’t exactly spell world class, especially when her last two fights aren’t against top level competition. Correia needs to get in close, make the fight dirty and try to outpace Holm. Over a five round fight, I don’t see Correia implementing her game that long without tiring or getting caught. Holm finally rebounds and gets her first knockout since the Rousey finish.
Prediction: Holly Holm via KO Round 3
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