UFC Fight Night 165 Preview & Predictions

Real last minute previews, I thought I would have plenty of time to write these today, but blackout had other ideas.

Main Event: Frankie Edgar vs. Chan Sung Jung

Edgar is by no means shot or anything, just has seen his best days and is really up there in age. Korean Zombie hits hard, is more rangy and can grapple very well. This should look a lot like Frankie's match with Holloway, with him getting pieced up from the outside. That being said, Zombie has also been KOd a few times and he might be more willing to engage in some slugfest, which Edgar might very well win. 

Still, at his age Edgar is no longer a fighter you can rely on these kind of top level matchups. Korean Zombie via UD.

Co-Main Event: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Aleksandar Rakic

This one is a tough one, cause I do see Rakic as one of the best prospects in LHW division right now, but they really are throwing him into the deep end with this match up. Oezdemir might have fallen little short of being a real title contender, but he is clearly elite of the division, and could have indeed gotten the decision against Reyes.

Still, as much as I see Oezdemir as the overall better fighter with dangerous power, Rakic definitely has a way for winning this - he is good at movement, has decent cardio and is excellent outside striker. It will be about who dictates the range better, up close Oezdemir has the advantage but at distance Rakic will be the one to have an advantage.

In the end I do think Oezdemir will be able to pressure enough to keep it close and even if he does not get a KO, I don't think his chin is gonna get cracked either so he will probably get a decision. Oezdemir by narrow UD. 

Doo Ho Choi vs. Charles Jourdain

Good to see Korean Superboy back, but this is quite a step down in competition after Swanson and Stephens, both veterans near the top of the division.

Or at least, that would be your first impression, since Jourdain is very unknown guy with just one UFC fight in his record and that a loss too. However, when you look into it, Jourdain fought very well division up against Desmond Green giving up at least 20 pounds in size. He only lost the decision because of couple takedowns and being in Green's home field.

So it is closer fight than it seems to be on paper. That being said, Choi should have better boxing, footwork and power which would mean the most likely outcome is him getting the knockout at some point. However, with Choi's tendency to be all offense first and attacking with his chin up, there is a chance for the opposite to happen as well.

Korean Superboy via 1st round KO.

Da Un Jung vs. Mike Rodriguez

Well this should be Rodriguez's fight considering how Jung really won his last fight more by just staying composed while his opponent gassed himself out more than with striking skill. Rodriguez is long and solid in the standup, so on the feet this should be easy for him. However, he has tendency to kinda end up too close so Jung should have opportunities to take him down. Jung really did not show much willingness to grapple in his previous fight though.

I am gonna tentavitely pick Rodriguez, that kind of length advantage is just hard to overcome and Jung just overall does not look that great. Rodriguez via 2nd round KO.

Jun Yong Park vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Barriault is unlucky to have lost two close decisions in his first UFC fights. He seems good enough to get past Park in this match, skill for skill its a close match but Barriault has much more power and is better rounded.

Still, Park can take a shot so it is likely to be another close decision in the end. I trust that the Canadian will get the job done via UD. 

Kyung Ho Kang vs. Pingyuan Liu

Liu has the youth on his side, and seems like he will need it considering Kang just seems better fighter in almost all aspects. Not by a big distance, its a generally close fight, but you just feel Kang will be the more aggressive one and either get it on the ground one way or another to grab another submission, or just pick up enough points to get a decision.

Kang via UD.

Ciryl Gane vs. Tanner Boser

I underestimated Boser last time, won't be making same mistake again. That said, he still should not be good enough to match Gane, who seems legit world champ level prospect. Boser probably can make it competitive though.

Gane via UD.

Suman Mokhtarian vs. Sung Woo Choi

Mokhtarian is predominantly a grappler, whereas Choi likes to keep at range and use his kicks. Choi lost his first two fights in UFC mostly due to being taken down repeatedly, but Mokhtarian does not look as good of a takedow artist and for his losses, Choi showed decent ability to get back up and resist the takedowns, so this should be a winnable fight for him. Expect Mohktarian to close distance and clinch up a lot. It will be a close fight either way, but in this case I lean towards the striker.

Choi via UD.

Omar Morales  vs. Dong Hyun Ma

Hard one to predict. Despite his age, Morales only has 8 fights and is unbeaten. It seemed for his last opponent easy to keep clinching him up, but Ma is not really that type of fighter. Obviously Morales has a lot of power, and Ma has showed signs of that chin starting to wear down, so I am going to bet on the power.

Morales via 1st round KO.

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Matt Schnell

Pantoja is one of the more well-rounded guys in this division, but it is not like Schnell has any major holes in his game either. Still, Schnell usually goes for submissions and I really don't see Pantoja being vulnerable to that as he has never been finished, so most likely it will be a very back and forth match in which Pantoja comes up with the better of it.

Pantoja via UD.

Said Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos

Nurmagomedov is a really good kickboxer, with solid enough takedown defence. Barcelos is predominantly a grappler, but he is also very powerful and might even have boxing advantage here. Still, his footwork against Huachin did not impress me and he is up there in age, so it seems likely me that Nurmagomedov can keep it standing, avoid the big shots and take a decision.

Nurmagomedov via UD.

Miranda Granger vs. Amanda Lemos

Uhh, low-level women's match-up. Don't like this. Lemos is coming down from a bigger weight class after two years gone and was powerful already at bigger weight class, but will see if she has fixed her cardio. Either way Granger is very basic and although he has better cardio, he does not really put the kind of pressure that would give Lemos problems.

Who knows, really, at least Granger has been active,  but I will lean on Lemos' power getting better of it. Lemos via 1st round TKO.

Heili Alateng vs. Ryan Benoit

Close fight on paper but I did not really see anything in Alateng's game that should give Benoit too much trouble. Benoit has been out for a long time so it is a bit of a mystery how he will look, but if its anything like his last fight, he should have the better of this fight with footwork and outside countering.

Benoit via 2nd round KO.