UFC Fight Night 147 takes place tomorrow in London, England and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
Main Card (ESPN+)
Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal
Till may have fallen short in his title fight with Tyron Woodley, but a win over Masvidal on home soil could help steady the ship and get him back into the title mix.
That’ll be easier said than done though as Masvidal is a smooth operator on the feet with very good technical boxing and crafty counter-punching being hallmarks of his style, while he’s also underrated on the mat, which could offer up a route to victory if he is willing to disengage from the stand-up battle.
However, in Till I think he’s facing a fighter who is more naturally suited to the weight class, is the heavier hitter with his powerful muay thai and is going to be the more aggressive fighter who will press the action.
The issue for Masvidal is that he has a bad habit of relying too much on waiting to land the counter and doesn’t go all out to ensure he wins rounds definitively.
I think that’s a flaw in his game that Till is going to exploit as he’ll be more offensive, land the bigger, more eye-catching shots and ultimately claim a decision victory.
Darren Till wins by decision.
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Gunnar Nelson vs. Leon Edwards
This is an intriguingly balanced fight, with Nelson being a terrific grappler with lethal submissions, while Edwards has proven to be a strong wrestler who can snuff opponents out on the mat.
Edwards was actually considered more of a striker when he first came into the UFC, but it’s not proven to be his strongest suit. It means he can hold his own in that regard though and that could be enough against Nelson, who has a karate based style that can see him waiting around on the outside for long periods for the right moment to strike, although he does close distance quickly and can land with significant power.
Generally Edwards will have most success when he’s clinched up or gets on top, but as well-rounded as he is, I think that he’s going to find Nelson’s terrific scrambling, top control and submission threat very hard to deal with and that’s going to lead to his winning streak coming to an end by way of a second round submission.
Gunnar Nelson wins by submission in Rd2.
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Volkan Oezdemir vs. Dominick Reyes
Oezdemir rose swiftly to the upper reaches of the 205lb division after a series of impressive wins after joining the UFC, only to then falter in more recent times, while Reyes is now following in his footsteps as he compiles his own noteworthy winning streak.
However, while there were always some questions marks about Oezdemir’s overall game, aside from his apparent KO power, due to his surprisingly quick finishes in the Octagon prior to title contention, Reyes feels like more of a known quantity based on his performances so far.
Both are high volume strikers, but while also being a dangerous finisher, Reyes has more strings to his bow than Oezdemir. He’s the quicker of the two, has good kicks, can operate from range efficiently and is also the better grappler of the two.
When two violent strikers like this cross paths the fight could go either way, but I think Reyes is the more skilled fighter and will stop Oezdemir inside of two rounds with strikes.
Dominick Reyes wins by TKO in Rd2.
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Nathaniel Wood vs. Jose Alberto Quinonez
This should be a competitive clash between two fast-paced bantamweights who have been putting together solid winning runs.
On the feet I’m expecting Wood to have the advantage here. He’s got the bigger power, his record is littered with finishes and he’s unlikely to be overwhelmed by the kind of pace that Quinonez will be pushing.
Quinonez will be looking to test Wood with takedowns and hoping to trouble him on the mat, but Wood is actually very capable if the fight does go to ground, so that won’t phaze him and may even set up submission opportunities for him to capitalize on.
I see Wood’s striking being the biggest factor here and that could lead to a finish inside the distance, though I’ll settle on a decision victory instead.
Nathaniel Wood wins by decision.
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Danny Roberts vs. Claudio Silva
Silva demonstrated his BJJ Prowess last time out by submitting Nordine Taleb in the first round despite coming off an almost four year layoff due to injuries.
It’s a talent he relies on heavily as, while aggressive, his striking leaves a lot to be desired and could get him into trouble against a capable kickboxer like Roberts.
Therefore, if Roberts can keep the fight standing he should emerge victorious, but his takedown defense isn’t the best and I think when Silva gets him down he’s going to find himself in a lot of trouble, resulting in a submission stoppage by the second round.
Claudio Silva wins by submission in Rd2.
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Jack Marshman vs. John Phillips
Two Welsh fighters clash here in what’s certain to be a crowd-pleasing all-out slugfest.
Both men will willingly stand toe-to-toe and slug it out, with Phillips having the bigger knockout power, but being the more limited fighter of the two.
Marshman has more offensive weapons on the feet and Phillips defense is very dubious, not to mention Marshman has the advantage on the mat if he wants to go there, so I think he’s the more likely to emerge victorious here, securing a second round TKO stoppage.
Jack Marshman wins by TKO in Rd2.
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Prelims (ESPN+) (Predicted winners in bold)
Arnold Allen vs. Jordan Rinaldi
Joseph Duffy vs. Marc Diakiese
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Saparbek Safarov
Tom Breese vs. Ian Heinisch
Dan Ige vs. Danny Henry
Molly McCann vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Mike Grundy vs. Nad Narimani
