UFC Fight Night 247 takes place tomorrow night in Las Vegas and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
Main Card
Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates
Neil Magny has alternated between wins and losses in recent fights and after coming off a TKO loss last time out he’ll now fight Carlos Prates, who has gone 3-0 in the UFC so far.
The 37-year-old Magny has been alternating as a gatekeeper in the welterweight division for some time now, with stars like Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Garry having passed the test against him convincingly to go onto bigger things, while others like Mike Malott and Daniel Rodriguez have had their winning streaks broken by the veteran. A tall, lanky 170lb’er, Magny’s jack-of-all-trades skill set, experience and work ethic have kept him relevant in the division for a long time. On the feet he’ll use his size to try to keep opponents on the outside, but really he’s at his best in close when he can transition to a grinding style with solid clinch-work and good wrestling control on top, leaning on his dependable cardio to wear on his opponents over time. He does have flaws though as he can struggle to fend off committed strikers due to his lack of power on the feet, while he’s also susceptible to being submitted at times on the mat and in general is starting to show signs of decline as age starts to catch up with him.
The 31-year-old Prates is only a few fights into his UFC career, but does hold a 20-6 record overall. He’s more athletic than Magny and is certainly the more dangerous striker of the two, blending his power with sniper-like accuracy, and the results speak for themselves, finishing all three of his UFC fights by knockout, and 15 of his 20 career wins overall. Prates would prefer to keep the fight standing and has shown good takedown defense to aid him in that regard.
Magny will certainly be hoping to stifle Prates striking here and attempt to grind out a win, but I feel this is the kind of fight where that’s going to be easier said than done as Prates has too much of an advantage in terms of speed and power, and so I think he’ll be able to finish the fight within the first two rounds here.
Pick: Carlos Prates wins by TKO in Rd2.
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Reinier de Ridder
With two submission victories under his belt already this year, Gerald Meerschaert now goes up against former two-dvision ONE FC champ Reiner de Ridder, who will be making his UFC debut.
At 36-years-old and with 54 fights already under his belt you’d think Meerschaert might be inclined to take it easy, but instead he’s returning to the Octagon just a couple of months after his last appearance. Meerschaert is a fighter who has never been able to lean on athleticism, big power or durability to get by and instead has had to be more crafty with the way he approaches fights. On the feet he’ll keep his distance and utilize kicks, but when opponents get beyond that comfort zone he counters that threat by well-timed clinch and takedown attempts. And from there he becomes much more difficult to deal with, particularly on the mat where he’s got a proven record of locking in submission finishes, with an impressive 29 racked up from 37 career victories, often benefiting from his reliable cardio giving him the upper-hand in the later rounds.
De Ridder arrives in the UFC at 34-years-old having already put together a 17-2 career record, with the highlight certainly being his back-to-back 205lb and 225lb title wins in the ONE FC promotion. After a couple of 205lb title defenses he did then lose both belts in consecutive fights, which has taken away some of the aura he was building up, but he has since picked up a TKO victory on the regional scene. De Ridder drops down to 185lbs for this fight and will have 3″ in height and 2″ in reach over Meerschaert. Beyond that he’s actually not unlike the UFC veteran in that he’s not much to write home about on the feet, but is a talented grappler who has managed to earn 11 submission wins from 17 victories.
This one will surely end up on the mat and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes from. Meerschaert has been submitted 8 times over the course of his long career, but it should be stressed that only one of them came in the past decade. That’s perhaps a testament to the experience he’s gained over the years, but de Ridder does come in as the less battle-worn fighters here and I think his all-round grappling technique may be more robust overall in an extended battle, and I’ll take that to give him enough of an edge to claim a submission stoppage in the final five minutes.
Pick: Reiner de Ridder wins by submission in Rd3.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Denise Gomes
Karolina Kowalkiewicz’s four-fight winning streak came to an end with a decision loss back in May and now she’ll fight Denis Gomes, who has gone 3-2 in the promotion so far.
After years ago Kowalkiewicz’s career looked to be fading out after five losses in a row together with also being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease and suffering a series eye injury. To her credit she defied the odds by returning to form with a four-fight winning streak, but she’s now 39-years-old and coming off a loss. Kowalkiewicz is a composed technical striker who has a distinct lack of stopping power, so she relies on her high-volume striking toughness and determination to get the better of exchanges, while she’s also proven to be quite capable in the clinch too.
15-years younger than her veteran opponent, the 24-year-old Gomes is also a volume striker who has less technique but does have a more powerful, aggressive edge to her work. She’s also well conditioned and can look to wrestle, but she’s not as capable defensively in that regard.
I think Gomes will be able to win out her with her more impactful offense and better energy levels over the full three rounds, but she’ll have to settle for a decision win.
Pick: Denise Gomes wins by decision.
Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopai
TUF season 29 champion Ricky Turcios has compiled a 2-2 run in the UFC so far and now goes up against Bernardo Sopai, who suffered a knockout loss in his Octagon debut early in the year.
The 31-year-old Turcios is a bit of a quirky wild-man in the cage thanks to his unorthodox technique and unpredictable offense and timing. He applies pressure with high-volume striking, but suffers from a lack of power as well as being too erratic to land with accuracy. Turcios is a respectable wrestler and while he can be taken down he enjoys engaging in high-paced scrambles and will look for submission opportunities amid the chaos that ensues. He was submitted last time out though.
The 24-year-old Sopai will have to show what he’s made of after suffering the first knockout loss of his career in his UFC debut, but it wasn’t all bad news as he was actually performing well until he began to tire in the final round and ended up folding to a flying knee. Sopai will be at a 5″ reach disadvantage here as well as giving up a couple of inches in reach, but he is the more purposeful striker with more significant power as he looks to land punches and kicks. Sopai will also look to utilize wrestling tactically at times to help win rounds.
Turcios can be tricky to deal with, but I think Sopai has the advantage on the feet and his wrestling is good enough to get some control on the mat too on his way to a decision victory.
Pick: Bernardo Sopai wins by decision.
Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson
Luana Pinheiro will be disappointed that her initial three-fight unbeaten start to her time in the UFC has now eroded courtesy of back-to-back defeats an now she goes up against Gillian Robertson, who has won four of her last five fights.
The 30-year-old Pinheiro is quite aggressive on the feet and throws with power, but does tend to be open to getting hit in return too often for her own good. It enables her to get into close range though, and from there her judo background comes into play as she looks to clinch up and work for throws. On the mat she’s a threat via submission, though she hasn’t found a finish in that manner since her days on the regional scene. Cardio can be an issue for Pinheiro due to the physicality of her fighting style.
At 29-years-old Robertson currently holds the record for most submission wins in women’s UFC history (7) thanks to her skilled grappling game. That’s no mean feat, but her striking remains less convincing, and so she can struggle at times when she’s unable to get the fight to the mat. As such, Robertson’s record stands at 14-8 overall, leaving her ranked No.14 in the division heading into this fight.
Pinheiro could find some success on the feet with her more forceful style, but I do feel this is a fight that will spill onto the mat, and ability wise I feel Robertson is a clear step-ahead in that department, which will open up opportunities to sink in a 2nd round submission finish.
Pick: Gillian Robertson wins by submission in Rd2.
Prelims (Predicted winners in bold)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Nicolas Dalby
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Duško Todorović
Matthew Semelsberger vs. Charles Radtke
Cody Stamann vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
Melissa Mullins vs. Klaudia Syguła
Gaston Bolaños vs. Cortavious Romious
Tresean Gore vs. Antonio Trócoli
