This card was originally supposed to be the return of TJ Dillashaw against fellow contender Cory Sandhagen but Dillashaw had to pull out due to a cut he received from a headbutt in training. Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson step into the main event slot and it should be a sneaky good fight between two top 10 fighters in the Women’s Strawweight division who will be competing at Flyweight. This 10-fight card has some really good bouts on it including Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Morono, Neil Magny vs. Geoff Neal, Amanda Ribas vs. Angela Hill and Phillip Hawes vs. Kyle Daukas.

The Preliminary Card gets started at 6pm ET with the Main Card kicking off at 8pm ET. It is also worth noting that Ryan Benoit’s bout against Zarrukh Adashev has been pulled from the card due to weight management issues with Benoit. Below are my previews for each fight on both the Preliminary Card and Main Card. Enjoy the read and enjoy the fights!

Preliminary Card (6pm ET)

Phillip Hawes (10-2) vs. Kyle Daukaus (10-1)

Middleweight Bout

The feature prelim of the night is a good one. Stylistically these two fighters are opposites. Hawes has 7 KOs in his 10 wins while Daukaus has 8 submissions in his 10 wins. Both fighters have proven to be hard to beat and the winner of this match could end up cracking the top 15 in the division. Hawes began his UFC career on the Contender Series last series and showed some true power so I’ll be interested to see Daukaus try to keep the fight on the ground and nullify that knockout power Hawes has.

Ludovit Klein (17-2) vs. Michael Trizano (9-1)

Featherweight Bout

Coming off of his UFC debut where he TKO’d Shane Young at UFC 253, Ludovit Klein is a boxer who looks to takes his opponent’s head off. The scary thing about Klein is he has the same amount of submissions as he does KO/TKOs so whoever comes up against him in the cage has a lot to worry about. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter 27 , Michael Trizano has not fought since 2019 where he lost to Grant Dawson. Due to lack of activity and the power of Klein I would expect Trizano to have a bit of a tough time.

Jun Yong Park (12-4) vs. Tafon Nchukwi (5-0)

Middleweight Bout

He hasn’t had many fights as a professional fighter but if there’s one thing we have learned in that time is that Tafon ‘ The Don ‘ Nchukwi does not let his fights go to a decision. That spells bad luck for his opponent Jun Yong Park, who will have a 2 inch height disadvantage and a 4 inch reach disadvantage. Jun Yong Park won his last two fights by unanimous decision and will be looking to stop the momentum of Nchukwi and build some of his own.

Christian Aguilera (14-7) vs. Carlston Harris (15-4)

Welterweight Bout

Set to make his UFC debut, Carlston Harris is ready to show the world why he belongs in the top promotions in the world. Fighting out of Brazil, Harris has a great ground game which he’ll need to be effective with going up against a knockout artist like Christian Aguilera. ‘ The Beast ‘ has gone 3-3 in his lat 6 fights but should be praised for being as active as anybody with 3 fights during the pandemic. This is a classic battle of ground game against striking but Harris will have the advantage at height (3″) and reach (4″).

Main Card (8pm ET)

Marina Rodriguez (13-1-2) vs. Michelle Waterson (18-8)

Women’s Flyweight Bout

Some people might sigh seeing this fight replace Dillashaw vs. Sandhagen as the main event but I think they’re underrating a fantastic matchup. Both are top 10 fighters in the Strawweight division who agreed to compete in this fight at Flyweight. Rodriguez has a muay thai background and is coming off of a win against Amanda Ribas at UFC 257. She is the taller fighter with a slight reach advantage but will definitely have her work cut out for her. ‘ The Karate Hottie ‘ Michelle Waterson got back on track in her last fight against Angela Hill. Her submission skills are phenomenal loves to throw kicks at all levels. She works well within the clinch as well. I expect this to live up to be a great fight and fit in perfectly as the main event.

Donald Cerrone (36-15, 2 NC) vs. Alex Morono (18-7, 1 NC)

Welterweight Bout

For the co-main event a fan favourite returns to the octagon. ‘ Cowboy ‘ Cerrone has the most wins in UFC history but hasn’t had much luck lately. Cerrone has lost 4 of his last 5 fights and is coming off of a draw and had rumours swirling about being cut from the promotion. He’ll look to get back to his winning ways against Alex Morono, a fellow veteran fighter who has become a bit of a journeyman. Morono has been on a bit of a slide himself but is a fantastic striker and also has a 61% defensive rate. Cerrone has been adamant on taking care of business in this fight and we have no reason to believe he won’t.

Neil Magny (24-9) vs. Geoff Neal (13-3)

Welterweight Bout

This could be the best fight of the night. Two top 10 fighters in the welterweight division will square off and look to continue their climb to the top of the ranks. Both are coming off losses after previously having winning streaks. Magny has the advantage in height and reach but is facing someone who finishes his fights more often than not. Both are well rounded fighters who seem to be even across the board. I love these types of fights because there doesn’t seem to be a clear advantage either way. Being able to watch two fighters try and figure the other out is amazing to see and I can’t wait for this one to get going.

Maurice Greene (9-6) vs. Marcos Rogerio De Lima (17-8-1)

Heavyweight Bout

Every time I preview a heavyweight fight I say how much I love them because of the nature of how they play out. Heavyweight fights are absolute brawls with non stop bombs until someone is knocked out cold. It’s fascinating to watch. In this instance, Maurice Greene actually has more submissions to his name (5) than he does KO/TKOs (3). He’s lost 3 of his last 4 fights but they understandably came against some top competition like Aleksei Oleinik and the up and coming Greg Hardy. Marco Rogerio De Lima has 13 knockouts in his career and is an absolute monster when you see him. He lacks the size in this fight as he is 6 inches shorter than Greene but makes up for it with his power and volume. Like I said, it’s a heavyweight fight. Don’t miss it.

Diego Ferreira (17-3) vs. Gregor Gillespie (13-1)

Lightweight Bout

Coming off of a loss to Beneil Dariush back in February, Diego Ferreira is a striker who lands 4.85 strikers per minute and has the ability to push pace on his opponents. Gregor Gillespie has won 46% of his fights via KO/TKO with only one loss to his name that came in his last fight back in 2019. Depending on the situation, I always give a slight advantage to whoever is more active but Gillespie is a very tough fighter who could defy my logic on this one. I expect this to be a stand up fight with these two fighters trading blows.

Amanda Ribas (10-2) vs. Angela Hill (13-9)

Women’s Strawweight Bout

What a fight this could turn out to be. Getting the main card started are two ranked fighters. I am a big fan of Ribas who got caught in a tough fight against Marina Rodriguez. She is by far a better grappler than Hill and has an astounding 85% when it comes to her take down defense, but that won’t be the problem here. Angela Hill has been around the fight game having a up and down career. She lands 5.66 strikes per minute but her defense is not as great as it needs to be. I expect Ribas to force Hill to try and stuff her takedowns or maybe have her worry so much about the ground game that her guard is not as high as it should be and exploit that. Either way I’m expecting a great fight to kick off a great card.