Penick's Take
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 63 PREVIEW: Penick's main card preview and fight picks for "Mendes vs. Lamas" event
Apr 3, 2015 - 11:00:10 PM UFC FIGHT NIGHT 63 PREVIEW: Penick's main card preview and fight picks for "Mendes vs. Lamas" event

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC brings a relatively strong Fight Night event to Fox Sports 1 tomorrow morning, headlined by a fight between two of the top five featherweights in the world. Here's what's on tap on the main card from Fairfax, Va., at UFC Fight Night 63:

Chad Mendes vs. Ricardo Lamas (Featherweight): Mendes and Lamas both fell victim to Jose Aldo in 2014, albeit in completely different fashion. Whereas Lamas was handily defeated by the reigning Champion in their five round fight last February, Mendes forced Aldo to step up his offense to take a decision in a fight that was closer than the final scores.

Lamas is a very good fighter, and he showed that he's deserving of his top 5-10 ranking when he rolled through Dennis Bermudez in November. He's got a solid striking game, excellent ground and pound, and good grappling to go along with it.

Mendes is an elite wrestler who has improved his striking game immensely over the last several years. He's only lost to the very best fighter this division's ever seen in Aldo, and outside of those two losses he's been as elite as they come at 145 lbs.

While Lamas has shown himself to be a very good fighter overall, this is the exact type of fight that has been his downfall in the past. Mendes is an excellent wrestler with now-equally-impressive striking, and I think that ultimately leads to a bad afternoon for Lamas. Mendes by TKO in the second round.


Al Iaquinta vs. Jorge Masvidal (Lightweight): Masvidal is one of those fighters who is more than adequate in so many aspects of his game that he's competitive with everyone he fights. He's not elite anywhere; he's not going to stop everyone he faces either on the feet or on the ground, but he's going to find ways to win rounds, and he's going to make it very hard for his opponent to find a finish themselves.

That's the battle Iaquinta has in front of him here. He's been on an excellent run of finishes, and he's finding ways to out-strike his opponents on a fight by fight basis. Iaquinta hits hard. Damn hard. But Masvidal's got quite a chin, and is not going to go down easily.

However, while Masvidal's got the chin to hold up from the power strikes of Iaquinta, the TUF runner-up in Iaquinta has the striking game to score points and the wrestling game to hold off some of Masvidal's attacks. Iaquinta via decision.


Michael Chiesa vs. Mitch Clarke (Lightweight): In an interesting fight, the last two men to defeat Iaquinta square off. Chiesa, who submitted Iaquinta to become the TUF: Live victor - and who was submitted himself by Masvidal - takes on Clarke, who upset Iaquinta in surprising fashion in his last fight in May of last year.

Chiesa's ground game is obviously his strong suit. He's made some improvements in his striking game, but that's absolutely not a strength of his. What makes this fight intriguing is that Clarke is a very similar fighter. Clarke's got some very solid submission skills, but his striking game leaves something to be desired.

This fight pits two really solid submission guys against one another, meaning it's either going to be a competitive ground battle, or they'll negate one another there and make this become a sloppier striking battle. At any rate, I think Chiesa has a slight edge in both areas, and if Clarke proves too tough to put away, I think Chiesa will pull away here. Chiesa by decision.


Julianna Pena vs. Milana Dudieva (Women's Bantamweight): Pena was excellent on The Ultimate Fighter 18, and won that season's tournament with relative ease. Unfortunately, a nasty training injury took her out of commission last January, and it's actually quite impressive that she's returning this quickly.

Dudieva made a successful UFC debut last year, defeating Elizabeth Phillips by decision in Macau, China. It was a close fight, but Dudieva pulled out the victory with a solid grappling game that earned her points throughout the bout.

Pena is a much better grappler than striker, though that ground game is certainly going to face a test in Dudieva here. If Pena can return at anywhere near the level she was at prior to the injury, she could make a successful return here. If she's lost anything due to the injury, Dudieva could be a difficult hurdle. This one's more of a toss-up than it seems, but I'll take Pena by decision.


Clay Guida vs. Robbie Peralta (Featherweight): Guida's been stopped in two of his last three fights, prompting a camp shift over to Team Alpha Male. That could be a potentially beneficial move for him, as he's been training with a lot of excellent fighters in the lower weight classes.

Peralta's been a story of unrealized potential thus far in his UFC career. He's had a few standout moments, but for every fantastic performance, there's a questionable split decision over Rony Jason or a submission loss to Thiago Tavares.

This fight could go either way right now, because there are a number of random variables from both fighters that either allow them to excel or hold them back. Peralta could potentially have the upside as the younger fighter, but he's so inconsistent it's impossible to have faith in his game. Still, Guida's on the downside of his career here, and Peralta could be in line for a rebound victory. Peralta by decision.


Dustin Poirier vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira (Lightweight): Poirier's moving back to the lightweight division for the first time since entering the UFC. He had a rough last outing against Conor McGregor, snapping a three fight winning streak, and he's hoping the lessened weight cut will help him to succeed further.

Ferreira suffered the first loss of his career in his last fight, dropping a decision to Beneil Dariush, who followed that up with an even more impressive win.

Poirier and Ferreira should be a very competitive fight to open things up on the Fox Sports 1 main card. Poirier's got finishing power, and at 155 lbs. he might be a bit stronger than he was at featherweight. However, Ferreira's a very difficult opponent, and he's going to give Poirier a significant challenge here. I'm not sure what to expect out of Poirier at 155 lbs., but I'm not sure he's going to get past Ferreira when Ferreira's looking to rebound from his only career loss. Ferreira by decision.