UFC Fight Night 155 takes place this coming Saturday night in Sacremento, California and you can check out our predictions for all the fights below.
Main Card
Germaine de Randamie vs. Aspen Ladd
A brief champion at featherweight, de Randamie is now the No.1 contender at bantamweight, but instead of getting a title shot will have to fight the 4th ranked Ladd instead on Saturday night.
At 24, Ladd is one of the bright sparks in the division and she’ll be looking to neutralize de Randamie’s kickboxing threat by bringing her down to the mat, though to do so she’ll have to navigate past a 3″ height and 4″ reach disadvantage.
De Randamie’s striking is on point and Ladd isn’t the most defensively sound, but I still think she’ll be able to drive into takedown opportunities, and while her opponent won’t be easy to bring down I do like the younger fighter’s chances of getting her down at times and controlling the action there long enough to secure a decision victory.
Prediction: Aspen Ladd to win by decision.
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Urijah Faber vs. Ricky Simon
Two-and-a-half years after retiring, Faber returns at the age of 40 to take on the 31-year-old Simon, who has been on an eight-fight winning streak while he’s been on the sidelines, including three victories inside the Octagon.
This isn’t just a tune-up fight for Faber, he’s been thrown straight in with a fighter with momentum behind him and the kind of fast-paced style that’s going to afford him little opportunity to settle back into life in the UFC.
That being said, Faber has always kept himself in great shape and that hasn’t changed during his time off, but there were signs on the feet that he was starting to slow down a little in the latter stages of his career, so that’ll be a concern now that he’s even older.
Simon will try to push the pace and will throw a lot of strikes on the feet, albeit without being particularly accurate, but it’s his grappling that’s his strongest suit.
Faber is a seasoned grappler in his own right though and I think he’ll be able to match Simon’s pace despite his time off and stay competitive before latching onto a fight-ending choke on the mat in the second round.
Prediction: Urijah Faber to win by submission in Rd2.
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Mirsad Bektic vs. Josh Emmett
This should be a tense fight, particularly as Emmett has proven to have the kind of one-punch knockout power that can end a fight at any time in the featherweight division.
Emmett is also a capable wrestler, but he’s likely to find the going tough against Bektic who is very good on the mat and has excellent ground and pound.
Aside from the power differential, Bektic should be able to to match-up reasonably well with Emmett on the feet and if in danger he is effective in the clinch too, but he needs to be careful about being overly aggressive, as that could enhance the risk of getting caught with a bomb.
The biggest problem for Bektic may well be that his cardio can be suspect in the closing stages of fights, but overall I feel he’s going to be able to use his grappling advantage to win out here on the scorecards.
Prediction: Mirsad Bektic to win by decision.
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Karl Roberson vs. Wellington Turman
At 22 and coming in on just a few weeks notice it might seem like Turman is a lamb to the slaughter here, but he’s actually had more fights than Roberson in his career to date.
Turman is also well versed in submissions and that just so happens to be a weak spot for the striking orientated Roberson.
That being said, on the feet Roberson is certainly the more formidable opponent with his hard kicks and good power, while he can also make his impression felt in the clinch and that could make life more difficult for Turman as he tries to get this fight to the mat.
With that in mind I do still favour Roberson to be able to keep this one upright and eventually finish Turman off by TKO in the second round.
Prediction: Karl Roberson to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Cezar Ferreira vs. Marvin Vettori
Ferreira was at one time an all-action fighter, but time would show that he just doesn’t have the chin to carry that off, so he adopts a more cautious approach now, although he is still something of a predator with submissions if and when he finds a way to bring the fight to the mat.
Vettori is more of a solid all-rounder who is more active on the feet than Ferreira and can take a punch better, while he can also wrestle and work for submissions too.
Ferreira is more of a live wire on the mat, but overall it’s the more durable, dependable Vettori who I favor to avoid playing to his opponents strengths and instead keep up a higher work rate on the feet to get the nod from the judges.
Prediction: Cezar Ferreira to win by decision.
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Prelims (Predicted winners in bold)
Andre Fili vs. Sheymon Moraes
Livinha Souza vs. Brianna Van Buren
Darren Elkins vs. Ryan Hall
Mike Rodriguez vs. John Allan
Nicco Montano vs. Julianna Pena
Jonathan Martinez vs. Liu Pingyuan
Vince Morales vs. Benito Lopez
