UFC 216 Ferguson vs Lee
October 7, 2017 Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims
Matt Schnell (10-4-0) $8200 vs Marco Beltran (8-6-0) $8000
Matt Schnell– Striker/Grappler 0-2 in the UFC. American Top Team fighter showcased his talents on the MTV reality show “caged” while also competing in smaller organizations. Fighting for his UFC contract future I expect to see a very motivated Schnell to utilize his grappling to take Beltran down and go for submission or ground and pound for the win.
Marco Beltran– BJJ/Boxer 3-2 in the UFC. Started out his UFC career 3-0 but has lost his last 2 fights. Beltran will want to utilize his boxing and keep the fight standing if the fight goes to the canvas he can use his BJJ skills to get the submission finish.
Thales Leites (27-7-0) $7900 vs Brad Tavares (15-5-0) $8300
Thales Leites– BJJ 12-6 in the UFC. He has fought some of the top-level fighters at MW. Veteran fighter with a BJJ black belt will want to get the fight to the ground, he will want to grind this fight out either in the clinch or against the cage grinding for takedowns.
Brad Tavares– Brawler 10-4 in the UFC. Heavy handed Hawaiian has solid striking techniques throwing knees in the clinch and kicks to chop his opponent’s legs out. Has solid takedown defense will use his sprawl to defend against the takedown. Very durable fighter known to turn fights into battles.
John Moraga (17-6-0) $6900 vs Magomed Bibulatov (14-0-0) $9300
John Moraga– Grappler/Striker 6-5 in the UFC. Moraga is a good wrestler with above average power has
Magomed Bibulatov– Striker/Grappler 1-0 in the UFC. well-rounded fighter with a background in Kempo, karate and Kik-jitsu with above average power in his hands, strong wrestling and submissions to finish most fighters he faces.
Walt Harris (10-5-0) $9200 vs Mark Godbeer (12-3-0) $7000
Walt Harris– Striker 3-3 in the UFC. explosive fighter who relies on his striking ability and has won all 10 of his fights by knockout. Harris is a nightmare standing up and he does a lot of his work in the early rounds.
Mark Godbeer– Striker 1-1 in the UFC. Godbeer is a striker with raw power and very aggressive puncher who has produced knockouts in five of his last six victories and has won just one fight by decision overall. Godbeer has fought majority of his fights standing, but he does have two career submission victories.
FX
Pearl Gonzalez (6-2-0) $8400 vs Poliana Botehlo (5-1-0) $7800
Pearl Gonzalez– Grappler0-1 in the UFC. Gonzalez grappler by trade will want to take this fight to the ground and work for a submission or grind out a decision.
Poliana Botehlo– Striker/Grappler making her UFC debut. Coming out of the Nova Uniao gym(Claudia Gadelha, Jose Aldo) competing daily with top level BJJ fighters is better known for her striking which has led to all of her wins by stoppage.
Lando Vannata (9-2-0) $8800 vs Bobby Green (23-8-0) $7400
Lando Vannata– Striker 1-2 in the UFC. 2x fight of the night winner 1x performance of the night winner, very technical striker with decent power and known to be a gritty tough as nails fighter willing to lay it all on the line to get the KO finish.
Bobby Green– Grappler/Striker 4-3 in the UFC. Green took this fight on short notice due to Abel Trujillo having to pull out of the fight. Currently on a 3-fight losing skid and recovering from injury and personal issues it will be interesting to see how green fights with all the outside distractions possibly behind him.
Will Brooks (18-3-0) $8600 vs Nik Lentz (29-8-2 1NC) $7600
Will Brooks– Grappler 1-2 in the UFC. Former Bellator champ currently on a 2-fight losing skid looks to right the ship. Very athletic will use his speed to stick and move
Nik Lentz– Grappler 11-5-1 1NC in the UFC. Scrappy veteran wrestler by trade known for his durability will need to strike with brooks in this one since both fighters are wrestlers so this could end up being a striking battle. Strong leg kicks
Tony Duquesnoy (15-1-0) $9100 vs Cody Stamann (15-1-0) $7100
Tony Duquesnoy– Striker/Grappler- 1-0 in the UFC. Former BAMMA champion at FW and BWwith Explosive power. Well-rounded fighter with an impressive resume in multiple martial arts disciplines. His athletic ability and fight knowledge will come into play
Cody Stamann– Grappler/Striker- 1-0 in the UFC. BJJ blue belt and former golden gloves state champion very athletic with high fight IQ. In his UFC debut fight he man handled his opponent landing 8 takedowns which he will have to use to his advantage in this fight.
Main Card
Beneil Dariush (14-3-0) $9000 vs Evan Dunham (17-6-0) $7200
Beneil Dariush– Grappler/Striker- 8-3 in the UFC. accurate striker smart fighter good grappler who can finish fights when he gets them to the canvas.
Evan Dunham– Grappler/Striker- 11-6 in the UFC. BJJ along with good takedown defense with good ground and pound, volume striker who is going to be the aggressor so he will be dangerous wherever the fight ends up.
Mara Romero Borella (11-4-0) $7300 vs Kalindra Faria (18-5-1) $8900
Mara Romero Borella– Judo/BJJ- making her UFC debut. Judo black belt with solid power in her hands with impressive combinations using kicks and strikes. BJJ blue belt with good submission skills and above average ground and pound.
Kalindra Faria– BJJ/Kickboxer- making her UFC debut. Decent striker with above average BJJ will use the body lock to drag her opponent to the mat and transition to ground and pound or work for a submission.
Fabricio Werdum (21-7-1) $8700 vs Derrick Lewis (18-5-0 1 NC) $7500
Fabricio Werdum– BJJ- 12-7 in the UFC. Werdum a world-class BJJ black belt known for his top-notch grappling and submission game. Has been working tirelessly on improving his striking but his world class grappling will come into play in this fight.
Derrick Lewis– Striker- 9-3 in the UFC. Striker by trade with ridiculous power known to go all in and no matter what he will go out on his shield does have decent takedown defense. Something that concerns me is that Lewis spent time away from the gym and training due to Hurricane Harvey where he was out helping save people from the flood waters.
Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1) $9700 vs Ray Borg (11-2-0) $6500
Demetrious Johnson– MMA fighter- 16-2-1 in the UFC. 10x defending champion wrestler freak of nature high volume striker (3.49 SS per minute) solid body kicks, Solid takedowns (3.43 TD avg.) quick transitions. Beats his opponent at their game has advantage in every aspect of the fight.
Ray Borg– Wrestler- 5-2 in the UFC. Decent striker very fast combinations (1.51 SS per minute) good grappling (3.16 takedowns per fight) solid uppercut in the clinch. Will need to have his best performance with no errors to have a chance against arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the UFC.
Tony Ferguson (23-3-0) $8900 vs Kevin Lee (16-2-0) $7300
Tony Ferguson– Grappler/Striker- 12-1 in the UFC. Ferguson is a well-rounded fighter who is a volume striker with KO power in his hands and is very comfortable on the canvas with five submission victories. Ferguson has a background in wrestling and boxing is also one of the better conditioned fighters.
Kevin Lee- Grappler/Striker- 9-2 in the UFC is a strong athlete has executed a combined nine takedowns in his last three fights and does a wonderful job of being in control when on the canvas. Lee has four victories by submission and has never been submitted himself. Lee is an underrated striker with above average power.
