UFC Edmonton Picks and Preview

The UFC is back in Canada for a card with some interesting stuff. So here are some picks and a preview of the card.

PRELIMS:

Jamey-Lyn Horth(6-1) V Ivana Petrović(7-1)

Women’s flyweight action here. Horth’s 1-1 in her UFC run, but her loss is to Veronica Hardy, who’s quite good. Before the UFC, she was 5-0 with all finishes, so she may find her finishing ability in this one. Petrović got her first win in the UFC last time out with an arm triangle in the third, but before that lost her debut. Both fighters are 1-1 in the UFC and, to me, I’d say, are fairly even. I’m leaning toward Petrović because of the finish last time out, but it’s 50/50 for me.

Prediction: Petrović by DEC

Chad Anheliger(13-7) V Cody Gibson(20-10)

Fairly decent bantamweight fight here. Anheliger is 2-2 but also has a win on the Contender Series. He does hit hard and tends to carry power to the later round, which may be his way of winning here of outlasting his opponent and getting a late finish. Gibson is a solid fighter who’s been around and is on his second run in the UFC. He won his last one in the first round by sub, so he’s coming in with a win. I favour Gibson, but the later rounds will be interesting if Anheliger lands.

Prediction: Gibson by DEC

Serhiy Sidey(10-2) V Garrett Armfield(10-4)

Another decent bantamweight fight here. Sidey won on the contender series with a first-round ko of Ramon Taveras, but they rematched in the UFC, and he lost a decision. He’s fairly tall for the division and has solid striking. Armfield is 2-2 in the UFC but looked really good against Brad Katona two fights ago and even looked alright against Brady Hiestand until he lost. I think Armfield wins here but Sidey in Canada might get a boost in confidence and get the win.

Prediction: Armfield by DEC

Alexandr Romanov(17-3) V Rodrigo Nascimento(11-2)

Heavyweight action here. Romanov is alright for a heavyweight but anything passed the top 10 he seems to struggle. He likes to ground and pound and hold people down. Nascimento isn’t great but was on a three fight winstreak up until his last fight against Derrick Lewis. I feel this is a fairly simple win for Romanov probably early in the fight.

Prediction: Romanov by SUB R1

Jack Shore(17-2) V Youssef Zalal(15-5-1)

Fantastic fight to start the card. Jack Shore is a solid fighter who’s dangerous on the ground. His striking is slowly improving, but that’s clearly his weakest area. Youssef Zalal is on his second UFC run and he is looking better than ever. He’s a very solid all-rounder but is on a 3-fight win streak, all by Submission. I think Zalal will win this and continue to make a run at the rankings. Shore has a chance, especially if the fight gets to the ground.

Prediction: Zalal by DEC

Charles Jourdain(15-8-1) v Victor Henry(24-6)

The banger of the card takes place here. Jourdain Is fighting in Canada, so I imagine he will be up for this fight. He is a really solid fighter who has struggled with consistency. Henry is a solid vet who is finally in the UFC and has been pretty good. I think this will be the best fight on the card. I think Jourdain at 135 will be a challenge if the weight cut doesn’t affect him, as he is tall and long and a solid fighter. I got Jourdain winning in Canada with a big performance, but Henry is very much in this fight.

Prediction: Jourdain by DEC

Ariane Lipski(17-9) V Jasmine Jasudavicius(11-3)

An alright women’s flyweight fight here with Lipski and Jasudavicius. Lipski has been around for a while and is a solid fighter but has struggled to stay consistent. Jasudavicius is on the up, and you can imagine with a fight in her country, she will want to look good here. I think it’s set up for Jasudavicius to have a great performance in front of her home fans and against a good name in the division.

Prediction: Jasudavicius by DEC

Aiemann Zahabi(11-2) V Pedro Munhoz(20-9)

Fun bantamweight action here. Zahabi has found some consistency recently and has looked good on his four fight win streak. He took Javid Basharat’s 0, which, to me, was very impressive. Munhoz has been around forever and is always a decent fight. He does seem to be near the end of his career, with only one win in his last 5. I feel like Zahabi wins as he has been looking good recently, and Munhoz has taken a solid amount of damage, so it feels like time might have caught up with him.

Prediction: Zahabi by DEC

MAIN CARD:

Mike Malott(10-2-1) V Trevin Giles(16-6)

Mike Malott is back in action in his native Canada. Malott is a solid fighter who looked good in his first three UFC fights, and even in his most recent fight against Neil Magny, he was winning the fight until he gassed in the third and lost. Giles is an alright fighter who at one point was 11-0 but has had an up and down in the last few years. He’s lost his last two by getting finished. This feels like a layup for Malott in his home nation to get back to winning with a big finish.

Prediction: Malott by KO R2

Marc-André Barriault(16-8) V Dustin Stoltzfus(15-6)

Middleweight action here with Barriault and Stoltzfus. Barriault is very tough and very rough but an effective fighter who can cause problems. Stoltzfus isn’t great, and at one point, I thought he was destined to be cut from the UFC, but he has improved recently and did beat Punahele Soriano recently, so he’s clearly a threat. He is alright on the ground, so if the fight hits the ground, it could be interesting. I do think Barriault wins just by grinding Stoltzfus over three rounds.

Prediction: Barriault by DEC

Caio Machado(8-3-1) V Brendson Ribeiro(15-7)

No idea how this fights on the main card but it is. Both guys aren’t great at have not won yet in the UFC. I think Ribeiro wins by KO as he at least looked dangerous in his fights he’s had.

Prediction: Ribeiro by KO R2

Derrick Lewis(28-12) V Jhonata Diniz(8-0)

Big hitters fighting here. We all know Derrick Lewis and what he brings. He hits hard, and even when he’s tired, he has one-shot knockout power and will always be dangerous. Diniz is interesting to me as he’s a fairly solid kickboxer for a heavyweight. He’s looked good in his previous fights, but I don’t know if it looks the better the opponents get. I think this should be fun while it lasts but I’m favouring Diniz as I like his style for heavyweight.

Prediction: Diniz by KO R2

Rose Namajunas(13-6) V Erin Blanchfield(12-2)

Big fight in the women’s flyweight division. Namajunas is one of the best women’s fighters we’ve ever seen, but her main issue has always been consistency. She’s coming in on two wins, which may improve her confidence. Blanchfield is a talent who clearly will compete at the top of this division for a while, but she suffered her first loss in the UFC last time out. This should be a solid fight and one I think is pretty even, but I favour Namajunas for this one this time out.

Prediction: Namajunas by DEC

Brandon Moreno(21-8-2) V Amir Albazi(17-1)

Potential title shot on the line in this one. Moreno is a great fighter who, even though he’s lost his last two, can still compete with the best of the division. Albazi is an interesting fighter to consider for the division as he’s clearly talented, but being at the top of the division is where I’m struggling with seeing him survive purely because I haven’t seen enough to say he would. I think Moreno gets back to winning ways here and shows the difference in level between him and Albazi. I do think it will be a good fight, and Albazi might surprise me, but I think Moreno will win here.

Prediction: Moreno by DEC