UFC Fight Night 48 Predictions

UFC Fight Night 48 gets underway in the early hours of Saturday morning and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights for you below.

Main Card:

Michael Bisping vs. Cung Le

Interesting middleweight match-up here contrasting Bisping’s more traditional, technical striking with Le’s flashier, eye-catching techniques.

Le’s at his most dangerous when he’s given space to operate and possesses some surprisingly accurate and effective spinning kicks that Bisping will have to be very wary of. Bisping will be happy to push the pace though and his boxing fundamentals and combinations could help him here to reduce Le’s own offensive output.

Bisping’s biggest advantage in this fight however is his overall cardio. Le does tire later in fights, and no wonder at the age of 42, not to mention that it’s been two years since his last fight, while The Brit’s conditioning is always good and in a five round fight that could make all the difference.

Le’s unpredictable, dangerous striking makes him a tricky opponent for Bisping, and a disappointing last outing against Tim Kennedy alon with an eye injury that may not have fully healed are also concerns heading into this one, yet I still lean towards ‘The Count’ here to keep the pressure on Le and get the better of him as the fight wares on to earn a decision win.

Michael Bisping to win by decision.

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tyron Woodley

This is a well matched welterweight fight between two very good grapplers who’ve also proven that they can also be dangerous on the feet too.

Kim’s coming off two KO wins in a row, but that’s not normal for him and he’s been throwing caution to the wind to reap the rewards. That could be a bad strategy against Woodley who for me is definitely the harder hitter of the two.

Grappling wise it’s very close, but Kim is a master at stifling opponents against the cage and on the mat and even though Woodley is a very good wrestler himself, I think he could well come off second best if he tries purely to match up in that department.

I’m hesitant to pick Woodley here because he looked lethargic last time out and Kim is very consistent, but the South Korean’s recent love of striking rings alarm bells for this match-up as Woodley has the power to stop him in his tracks, and I think he does just that.

Tyron Woodley to win by TKO in Rd2.

Zhang Lipeng vs. Brendan O’Reilly

An underwhelming main card match-up here. Lipeng won the first season of TUF: China, but that’s not a glowing accolade given the quality of opposition, and he didn’t look overly impressive.

O’Reilly didn’t fare well on the TUF: Nations show, but I favor the Australian to come out on top here, proving himself to be the stronger of the two and getting the better of the action on the feet to earn a TKO stoppage.

Brendan O’Reilly to win by TKO in Rd2.

Ning Guangyou vs. Yang Jianping

This fight is actually the featherweight tournament final from TUF: China that finally gets a chance to play out after being postponed earlier in the year.

There’s not a great deal to choose between thse two, but Jianping is the more well-rounded of the two, posing a threat with strikes, though I think it’s in the submission department that he gets the job done here.

Yang Jianping to win by submission in Rd2.

Prelims: (Predicted winners in bold)

Wang Sai vs. Danny Mitchell
Alberto Mina vs. Shinsho Anzai
Roland Delorme vs. Yuta Sasaki
Wang Anying vs. Colby Covington
Elizabeth Phillips vs. Milana Dudieva
Yao Zhikui vs. Royston Wee

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.