UFC Fight Night 139 takes place tomorrow night in Denver, Colorado and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights for you below.
Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Chan Sung Jung vs. Yair Rodriguez
Good fight here that should bring the night to a rip-roaring conclusion.
It’ll be particuarly intriguing on the feet, with Rodriguez being the more technical and creative striker, but ‘The Korean Zombie’ still possessing the toughness, aggression and offensive firepower to ensure that it’s going to be a competitive back-and-forth battle.
However, as long as he’s not just sucked completely into a stand-up war, the Zombie also has a significant advantage on the mat that could punish a largely stand-up focused fighter like Rodriguez.
Nevertheless, I still expect ‘The Korean Zombie’ to test his striking against Rodriguez, but it’s all-round skills that will eventually win him the fight, locking in a fourth round submission to emerge victorious.
Chan Sung Jung wins by submission in Rd4.
Donald Cerrone vs. Mike Perry
A big rivalry has been brewing between these two former teammates, creating a deep divide at Jackson Wink MMA in the process.
It’s come at a rough time in Cerrone’s career as he’s lost four of his past five fights and his chin has been showing signs of having seen better days, although a significant part of that may be down to the fact he’s now competing at welterweight.
The evidence suggests that step-up in weight hasn’t been a perfect fit for ‘Cowboy’ and that’s a real concern in this fight again, as though he has the technical advantage in both striking and grappling, he is going up against a bigger, heavier-handed opponent who won’t back down.
This is still a winnable fight for Cerrone if he works from range and simply picks apart Perry with superior striking and movement, but given all the bravado and fight camp drama brewing between them this could turn into a big of a dogfight, and at this stage in their careers I think that could work out badly for Cerrone, with Perry pressuring him in the early rounds and emerging with a TKO stoppage inside of 10 minutes.
Mike Perry wins by TKO in Rd2.
Germaine de Randamie vs. Raquel Pennington
It’s been a strange couple of years for De Randamie, who became the first ever UFC women’s featherweight champion and then refused to fight Cris ‘Cyborg’, leading to her being promptly stripped of the title again and then suffering injuries that have kept her out of the Octagon since.
Meanwhile Pennington managed to exceed expectations by fighting her way to a title shot, though that proved to be too much for her in the end and she now has to regroup and rebuild.
Pennington’s boxing has come along nicely and she’s not so reliant on just her toughness nowadays, but she’s still as refined a striker as a seasoned muay thai specialist like De Randamie.
It could be that Pennington’s improved wrestling could give her an advantage here, but De Randamie has shown strong takedown defense and so I think it’s likely she’ll be able to keep this one standing and land the crisper, more effective offense over the course of 15 minutes to emerge with a decision victory.
Germaine de Randamie wins by decision.
Beneil Dariush vs. Thiago Moises
This fight was moved up to main card status on very short notice to cover from the cancelled clash between Joseph Benavidez and Ray Borg.
Moises made his way to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series, but though he holds an 11-2 record and shows real promise at 23-years-old, this is far from an easy first test for him.
That being said, he might fancy his chances given that Dariush has troublingly been KO’d in two of last three Octagon outings.
However, though Moises is fairly well-rounded for his age, Dariush can also hang on he feet, while also having excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I think it’s that latter skill-set that will help him control the younger man on the mat for significant periods of the fight to claim a much needed decision victory.
Beneil Dariush wins by decision.
Maycee Barber vs. Hannah Cifers
Another addition to the UFC from Dana White’s Contender Series, at 20-years-old Maycee Barber shows a great deal of potential, although she’s still very much a work-in-progress at this stage.
Nonetheless, Barber’s athleticism enables her to operate at a high tempo and her grappling is likely to pose problems for Cifers, who is also making her debut and is far more comfortable on her feet, so I’ll take her to be in the driving seat for much of the fight and win by decision.
Maycee Barber wins by decision.
Luis Pena vs. Mike Trizano
Trizano won TUF 27, but Pena, better known as ‘The Violent Bob Ross’ had been earmarked as the favorite to win the show before suffering an injury, so in some ways this could be looked at as a re-imagining of the final to see who really is the true winner of the show.
Trizano is a fairly solid all-rounder, but Pena is a tricky customer to deal with given his major height and reach advantage thanks to being a 6ft 3″ tall lightweight and he’s particularly dangerous on the mat, which I think will pay dividends late in the fight by way of a submission finish.
Luis Pena wins by submission in Rd3.
Prelims (FOX Sports 1) (Predicted winners in bold)
Amanda Cooper vs. Ashley Yoder
Bobby Moffett vs. Chas Skelly
John Gunther vs. Davi Ramos
Julian Erosa vs. Devonte Smith
Prelims (Fight Pass)
Joseph Morales vs. Eric Shelton
Mark De La Rosa vs. Jordan Espinosa
