UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Harris Preview
Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira vs Don’Tale Mayes
Both fighters are fairly unknown to UFC fans. Don’Tale Mayes lost his debut fight by submission, and this will be Rodrigo Nascimento’s debut, after winning a fight on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Rodrigo Nascimento is a very talented Heavyweight prospect, known for his great Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has a 100% finish rate in his professional career, with 5 of those 7 victories coming by way of submission.
With Mayes’ fight ending with him being submitted, Nascimento could look to exploit that hole in Mayes’ game. Don’Tale Mayes will likely try and keep the fighting standing to avoid Nascimento’s BJJ. Classic striker vs Grappler matchup.
Cortney Casey vs Mara Romero Borella
Both women are looking to get back on the right track, with Borella losing her last 2 fights, and Casey losing her last one. 6 out of 7 of Casey’s losses were by way of decision, whereas 5 of Borella’s 7 losses have come by way of stoppage.
Borella tends to push the pace more, and take more risks, so Casey will have to capitalize on Borella’s mistakes.
Darren Elkins vs nate landwehr
Nate Landwehr will have the opportunity to recover from his debut loss, against the struggling veteran in Elkins. Elkins has lost 3 straight, but has the experience behind him, fighting against men like Michael Johnson, Charles Oliveira, Chad Mendes, and Jeremy Stephens.
Landwehr lost his debut fight by first round knockout, to Herbert Burns, who up until that fight, had never won a fight by knockout. Considering how much better of a striker that Elkins is compared to Burns, Landwehr will have to be careful, and try not to trade big shots.
Giga Chikadze vs irwin rivera
Irwin Rivera will be making his UFC debut against the Georgian fighter, Giga Chikadze. It’ll be an interesting matchup, considering that Chikadze typically fights at 155, and Rivera typically fights at 135.
With both men fighting in new weight classes, this one is very unpredictable. Chikadze has won both of his UFC fights by split decision, while Rivera has on his like 3 by TKO, Rivera has been shown to push the pace more in his recent past, but how that’ll translate at the next level is yet to be seen.
Chikadze is the safe bet here, but with how good Rivera was at stopping the fight standing at 135, that skill could be exemplified at 145.
anthony hernandez vs Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland is incredibly confident going into this one. Not only was he ready to fight Anthony Hernandez this Saturday, but he was willing to fight Marvin Vettori, on a one day notice.
Anthony Hernandez has the advantage on the ground, while Holland has the advantage on the feet, so the fight will be determined on whether or not Hernandez can change levels effectively.
matt brown vs miguel baeza
Miguel Baeza will be facing his first real challenge in UFC, in veteran Matt Brown. Both men are brawlers, willing to throw caution to wind.
Brown is incredibly dangerous on the feet, more dangerous than anyone Baeza has ever fought. Brown has some of, if not the best elbows in all of MMA, so Baeza’s usual brawling style may not be the plan for this one, because one wrong move, and his lights could go out.
Baeza will need to overcome this challenge if he hopes to keep climbing his way up the card in the UFC. Matt Brown has been known as the gatekeeper of the Welterweight division, putting a stop to the momentum of many fighters including Erick Silva, Mike Pyle, and Jordan Mein.
Baeza is the favorite in this, but you can never count out Matt Brown, who is one of the winningest fighters in UFC history.
Song Yadong vs Marlon Vera
Both of these men have incredibly high ceilings in this division, despite their low spots on the Bantomweight top 15. Marlon Vera is a very talented wrestler, who’s only downside is that he’s not great on the feet, but as long as you can consistently get the fight to the ground, that you can survive without great standup. To work his way up the rankings, he’ll need to develop a better striking game, which is something Song will likely exploit.
Song Yadong is an elite striker, with one punch knockout power, which is fairly uncommon at Bantamweight. He’s fought 19 times, despite his young age, meaning that even though he’s younger than most fighters, he’s also more experienced than them.
Marlon Vera has only ever lost to elite strikers, and Song Yadong has only ever lost to great wrestlers, so it’ll be interesting to see who’s discipline will come out on top.
Eryk Anders vs krzysztof jotko
Krzysztof Jotko is the favorite to win this one, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s been in the UFC since 2013, and has amassed an 8-4 record in the promotion. He had great cardio, meaning more often than not, the decision will go his way. He has the ability to knock his opponent out, but it’s been since 2016 since he’s been able to accomplish that.
Eryk Anders is a fast starter, with the ability to end the fight as soon as the bell rings. He doesn’t have the durability and cardio that Jotko has, so if the fight goes to decision, it’ll likely go too Jotko. Jotko will have to survive the initial onslaught, and wait for Anders to start to slow down.
dan ige vs edson barboza
Edson Barboza will be making his Featherweight debut, in hopes of turning his career around. He’s lost 4 of his last 5 at Lightweight, so the move down to Featherweight could be what he needs to get back on the right track.
Barboza has been in the UFC since 2010, and during his prime, was regarded as one the best strikers in the organization. His highlight reel is stacked, with his knockouts against Beneil Dariush, Terry Etim, and Dan Hooker all showing off his diversity and power on the feet.
Dan Ige will be welcoming Edson Barboza to the Featherweight division, and will look to continue his winning streak. He’s won 5 in a row, after losing his debut fight by Unanimous decision. He’s the underdog in this one, due to Barboza’s excellent striking, so he may look to change levels, to avoid Barboza’s knockout power.
Claudia gadelha vs angela hill
Angela Hill is one of the busiest fighters in the UFC. She fought 4 times in 2019, and this will be her 3rd fight of 2020, and we’re not even in the Summer yet. She prefers to keep the fight standing, and has had some trouble when the fight hits the mat. She’s been submitted 2 times in her career (3 times if you count the Ultimate Fighter,) and with how great Gadelha is on the ground, Hill will definitely want to keep this fight standing.
Angela Hill has plenty of experience against top level competition, but has never been able to seize the opportunity against them. Hill has lost to Carla Esparza, Rose Namajunas, and Jessica Andrade. Claudia Gadelha has a more consistent record with a pair of losses against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and loss to Jessica Andrade, but wins agaisnt Jessica Aguilar, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Carla Esparza as well. Gadelha has had mixed success in her recent outings, while Hill was won her last 3 fights, so it’ll be interesting to see how momentum matches up against skill.
Alistair Overeem vs Walt Harris
Walt Harris is fighting for more than just himself on Saturday, he’s also fighting for his step-daughter Aniah Blanchard, who was tragically murdered late last year. Walt Harris is a man who values family over everything, so the loss of his step-daughter almost caused him to retire from the sport, but he decided to keep going, in honor of her.
Walt Harris has won his last 2 fights by first round TKO, while Overeem lost his last fight by brutal knockout. Overeem dominated Rozenstruik for 5 rounds, until one brutal punch late in round 5 put an end to that. Overeem still has the ability to fight top Heavyweight’s, but has an obvious susceptibility to being knocked out.
Alistair Overeem will need to avoid taking any big shots, especially from a fighter as powerful as Harris. Both men have have incredible power, but one man is more prone to getting knocked out than the other. Overeem was knocked out by Rozenstruik just last year, while Harris hasn’t been knocked out since 2014.
Walt Harris has momentum on his side, and every reason to go out there and give it his all. Whether he wins or loses on Saturday, his courage and heart are undeniable.
