...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Tonight's UFC Fight Night 62 isn't a particularly meaningful fight card. After injuries ravaged what the UFC wanted to bring to Fox Sports 1, the card left in the wake of those removals is one of the weaker main cards they've yet brought to TV. Still, we've got fights to watch tonight, and if you don't have other plans you could do worse than tuning in to FS1. Here's some quick thoughts on picks for tonight's main card:
Demian Maia vs. Ryan LaFlare (Welterweight): LaFlare is getting the biggest opportunity of his career to date, taking his first headlining fight against a former title contender in Maia. The New Yorker is undefeated in his 11 fight career, and he's looked solid, if not spectacular, in his four UFC bouts thus far. He's a very good wrestler with an improving striking game, and his jiu jitsu skills are good, though obviously not on Maia's level.
The former Middleweight Title challenger is returning for the first time in ten months after a serious illness late last year. He stopped a losing streak in his last outing, defeating Alexander Yakovlev by decision, but he's been on a streak of less than stellar performances. He's capable of fantastically dominant offense, but he's going to have a tough time controlling LaFlare for a significant amount of time. I'd expect this to be a competitive, hard-fought battle between two well-matched welterweights here. LaFlare could take a big step forward in his career here, but in a five round fight - something he's never experienced - there are questions as to how he handles that. Either can win this fight, and though Maia may be more likely, I think LaFlare may be able to take three of five rounds. LaFlare by decision
Erick Silva vs. Josh Koscheck (Welterweight): This is just a bad matchup for Koscheck on short notice. Silva is too fast, hits too hard, and is too quick with his submissions for the fading former title contender. Koscheck's just a few weeks out from looking bad against Jake Ellenberger before ultimately getting choked out, and he had two KO losses prior to that defeat. Though Silva's been flaky thus far in his UFC run, and is prone to slip-ups right after he's looked great, I don't expect a setback here. Silva by KO in the first round
Leonardo Santos vs. Tony Martin (Lightweight): Santos is unbeaten over the last six years, including two wins and a draw in the UFC. Martin finally got his first UFC win his last time out with a nice submission over Fabricio Camoes, but he fell short against Beneil Dariush and Rashid Magomedov. Martin's a decent enough grappler, and he's fairly solid in scrambles, while Santos is a fairly strong competitor at 155 lbs. This is another likely close fight, as Martin's capable enough of hanging with Santos on the ground. Santos is probably going to score more control in the 15-minute fight, but it'll be competitive. Santos by decision
Amanda Nunes vs. Shayna Baszler (Women's Bantamweight): It's been a while since Baszler actually looked all that competitive, getting beat handily by Alexis Davis in Invicta and then again on The Ultimate Fighter before getting stopped by Bethe Correia. Nunes nearly beat up Cat Zingano before fading and getting stopped herself, but she's younger, faster, stronger, and more capable of winning this fight. I'd be surprised if Baszler's able to turn around from her recent performances against someone like Nunes here. Nunes by TKO in the first round
Gilbert Burns vs. Alex Oliveira (Lightweight): Oliveira has been quite busy over the last couple of years, as he's unbeaten in eight fights since April of 2013. He makes his UFC debut against the undefeated Burns, who is determined to prove he's among the best in the division. He's stopped all but one opponent, winning a decision over Andreas Stahl in his UFC debut. Burns is certainly an impressive fighter, but he hasn't faced the level of competition he needs yet to take the next step up. So this is a chance for him to showcase what he can do. I'm going with Burns by submission in the second round
Godofredo "Pepey" Castro vs. Andre Fili (Featherweight): Pepey has been very exciting in his last two wins, scoring a sick flying knee over Noad Lahat and beating Dashon Johnson with a mounted triangle armbar. Fili's going to be a considerably tougher out, as the entertaining young Team Alpha Male fighter has looked good in two of his three UFC appearances. Pepey can be knocked out, and Fili's stopped seven opponents with his strikes, so this one should be good. While Pepey's been great at home, this is a tough one for him here, and it's going to be a competitive matchup. Fili by TKO in the second round
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
