UFC Fight Night 152 takes place this coming Saturday night in Rochester, New York and you can see our predictions for all the fights below.
Main Card
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kevin Lee
Dos Anjos started off brightly in his welterweight campaign, but after back-to-back losses against Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman it’s become apparent that he has a hard time against strong, athletic wrestlers.
As it happens, that’s exactly what Lee is, though in all fairness, unlike the other two aforementioned fighters, Lee is only just acclimatizing to life at welterweight as this will be his divisional debut.
Nonetheless, there’s reasons to think Lee may suit this weight class as he’s struggled to make the limit at lightweight and has an abnormally long reach at 77″ (7″ more than RDA) despite being 5ft 9″.
It’d be in the 26-year-old’s best interests not to spend too much time striking on the outside with RDA despite that reach advantage though as the Brazilian is a relentless pressure fighter who will move in with combinations of kicks and punches and is also very capable defensively too.
Instead, Lee will have to respond with pressure of his own and turn this into a grappling match, getting dos Anjos up into the clinch against the cage, work for takedowns and use his superior wrestling to control the action.
RDA won’t make it easy for him. He can operate well with strikes even in the clinch and his BJJ is not to be overlooked either. In fact, in general he is the better, more well-rounded fighter here, but I think Lee’s physicality and wrestling prowess is going to be the decider here and lead him to a decision victory.
Kevin Lee wins by decision.
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Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Ian Heinisch
A former TUF Brazil Season 3 winner at heavyweight, Carlos Jr fights at middleweight these days and has compiled a five-fight winning streak there.
Carlos Jr’s main strengths are his wrestling and his proven ability to finish fights by submission, so that’ll be his main focus here, especially as Heinisch throws bombs on the feet.
A tough customer, Heinisch is a good wrestler too and on top he’s a real handful with his ground and pound, but though it’s possible he could trouble the Brazilian with his sheer aggression, I favor Carlos Jr to establish himself as the better ground fighter here and emerge with a second round submission victory.
Antonio Carlos Junior wins by submission in Rd2.
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Megan Anderson vs. Felicia Spencer
Spencer won the Invicta FC featherweight title after Anderson left to join the UFC, and now she herself has done the same by relinquishing the title in order to compete in the Octagon.
Anderson is a tall, hard-hitting kickboxer with a number of finishes on her record due to strikes, but her takedown defense isn’t the best and she’s not as much of a threat once the fight hits the mat.
That plays in Spencer’s favor as she’s a significantly shorter, stockier wrestler, so her gameplan will be clear from the outset – get this fight to the mat as quickly as possible.
Both fighters are good enough in their chosen area of expertise that they have a reasonable chance of emerging victorious here, but I do lean more towards Spencer’s grappling as being the most likely to make the difference due to concerns over Anderson’s ability to stop the takedown.
Felicia Spencer wins by decision.
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Vicente Luque vs. Derrick Krantz
Krantz makes his UFC debut on less than a week’s notice against Luque after Neil Magny was forced out due to a failed drug test.
It’s a tall order for Krantz, but he may deal with the pressure better than most as he’s a seasoned veteran with over 30 fights to his name and plenty of experience in the respected LFA promotion.
Still, it’s a tough assignment to go up against Luque, who has shown a consistent ability to put opponents away early during his UFC career to date thanks to his quick-out-the-blacks, heavy-handed style and I think he’ll prove that again here by way of a TKO stoppage inside the first five minutes.
Vicente Luque wins by TKO in Rd1.
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Charles Oliveira vs. Nik Lentz
Oliveira already holds two submission wins over Lentz (though admittedly one was later amended to a no-contest due to an illegal blow) so it’s a little bit puzzling whhy the UFC felt the need to match them up for a third time.
Lentz is still a tough-as-nails competitor with a grinding wrestling style that can be hard to deal with. Oliveira on the other hand has a far more creative, exciting, all-action style to watch, and he’ll have the advantage in the striking department, though it’s really on the mat that he’s at his best thanks to his tireless pursuit of a submission finish.
Oliveira’s scrambling game is terrific and he’s so quick and crafty on the mat whether on top or off his back that I think it’s only a matter of time before Lentz is tapping out, likely in the second round.
Charles Oliveira wins by submission in Rd2.
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Davi Ramos vs. Austin Hubbard
Hubbard makes his UFC debut after being LFA’s lightweight champion and he has a fairly well-rounded game without being outstanding in any one particular area.
Ramos on the other hand is more of a specialist, being a high-level BJJ player who has finished seven of his nine career victories by way of submission.
Hubbard will be a game opponent, but Ramos is just too good of a grappler and he’ll continue his recent trend of getting a first round submission here.
Davi Ramos wins by submission in Rd1.
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Prelims (Predicted winners in bold)
Aspen Ladd vs. Sijara Eubanks
Michael Trizano vs. Grant Dawson
Desmond Green vs. Charles Jourdain
Patrick Cummins vs. Ed Herman
Danny Roberts vs. Michel Pereira
Zak Cummings vs. Trevin Giles
Julio Arce vs. Julian Erosa
