UFC Fight Night:
5-13-20
From Jacksonville, FL
By Dylan Hager
2020 Picks Record:
Overall 55-50-1
Main Card 30-17
Prelim 25-33-1
Wednesday Night Fights?! I'm down! UFC puts on the second event of a three event in eight days run. Coming off last Saturday's UFC 249 ppv, Light Heavyweights Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira headline a ESPN+ card on Wednesday night. This card isn't near as deep as Saturday's ppv, but the five fight main card is sneaky good. Let's make some picks!
Anthony Smith (33-14) (4) vs Glover Teixeira (30-7) (8)
Former title challengers collide when Anthony "Lionheart" Smith fights Glover Teixeira in the main event. Smith has won four of his five fights at 205lbs, with the one loss coming via decision to Jon Jones. Meanwhile. Glover is on a three fight win streak and has also won four of five.
Lionheart won his Light Heavyweight debut with a 53 second KO of Hall of Famer Rashad Evans in June 2018. Smith finished Shogun Rua and Volkan Oezdemir on his way to challenging Jon Jones for the title in March of 2019. After losing a decision to Jones, Smith finished (and retired?) Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden last June. Lionheart has a ton of power, he's great at striking in the clinch, and he has a solid submission game.
Glover made his UFC debut in 2012 and has been a threat in the Light Heavyweight division ever since. He also lost a decision to Jones in his lone title fight, but he has big wins over Rampage Jackson, Ryan Bader, OSP, and Rashad Evans. Glover fought three times in 2019, picking up submission wins over Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba and winning a decision over Nikita Krylov.
Glover showed a bit of a resurgence in 2019, but Lionheart is easily better than Glover's 2019 opponents. I think Teixeira's power is underrated, and he has a solid grappling game. Smith will have the speed advantage and probably the power advantage. Smith is known for his striking, but he is a BJJ black belt. He choked out both Volkan and Gustafsson. I'd love to see what this fight looks like on the ground, but I really think Smith ends this one early. His power and finishing ability will be to much for Glover to handle. I like Smith to finish this one in the 2nd Round and put his name back in the title discussion. Pick: Anthony Smith 2nd Rd TKO
Ben Rothwell (37-12) vs Ovince Saint Preux (24-13)
Very intriguing fight in the co-main slot. Heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell takes on OSP in OSP's Heavyweight debut. Rothwell made his return to the UFC in March 2019 after almost a three year layoff. He lost his first two fights back to Blagoy Ivanov and Andrei Arlovski,but he was able to TKO Stefan Struve last December. OSP has been a streaky fighter for most of his UFC career. He's 2-2 in his last four fights. He has finishing power, but he has become famous for his success with the Von Flue choke, winning four fights with the choke.
There's not much of a height difference, but Rothwell weighed in 25 pounds heavier than Saint Preux at Tuesday's weigh in. I really think the weight difference will be too much for OSP. If OSP can use his speed to stay at a distance and outwork Rothwell, he has decent chance in this one. If OSP can get the fight to the ground, he could finish Rothwell with the "Von Preux" choke. However, I don't think OSP will get this one to the ground. OSP hasn't been KO'd since 2016, but Rothwell has a different kind of power than most guys at Light Heavyweight. I think Rothwell finishes this one early. Pick: Ben Rothwell 1st Rd TKO
Alexander Hernandez (11-2) (15) vs Drew Dober (22-9 (1))
Very good Lightweight firefight here in the middle of the card. Alexander "The Great" is 3-1 in the UFC. He defeated Beneil Dariush and OAM before being finished by Cowboy in January 2019. Hernandez came back and defeated Francisco Trinaldo by decision last July. Drew Dober has won two straight and has won five of his last six. He has 1st Round finishes of Marco Polo Reyes and Nasrat Haqparast in his last two. Both of these guys are fast starters. I expect these guys to stand and bang until one gets finished. Both fighters are very tough, but both guys also throw fire. If it happens to go to the ground, I like Dober to have the advantage, but I think Drew gets the win in the third. Pick: Drew Dober 3rd Rd TKO
Ricky Simon (15-3) vs Ray Borg (13-4)
Ricky Simon and Ray Borg should be a very fun fight in the Bantamweight Division. Both guys have good hand and a good ground game. Simon started his career 15-1 before falling to Uriah Faber and Rob Font in his last two fights. Borg has floated between Flyweight and Bantamweight throughout his career. He's on a two fight win streak, beating Gabriel Silva at Bantamweight and Rogerio Bontorin at Flyweight. I like Simon's hand better than Borg's, but I Borg has the better ground game. I think this goes the full fifteen minutes, and Ricky Simon gets the win. Pick: Ricky Simon Decision
** The Middleweight bout between Karl Roberson and Marvin Vettori has been canceled. The Arlovski vs Lins fight and the Johnson vs Moises fight has been moved from the prelims to the main card.**
Not the deepest prelim card by any means. I'm looking forward to Heavyweight's Andrei Arlovski and Philipe Lins doing battle. Johnson vs Moises and Eubanks vs Moras should be very fun as well. Quick picks for the prelims as always.
Andrei Arlovski (28-19 (2)) vs Philipe Lins (14-3) Pick: Philipe Lins
Michael Johnson (19-15) vs Thiago Moises (12-4) Pick: Michael Johnson
Sijara Eubanks (4-4) (15) vs Sarah Moras (6-5) Pick: Sarah Moras
Gabriel Benitez (21-7) vs Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer (9-0) Pick: Gabriel Benitez
Hunter Azure (8-0) vs Brian Kelleher (20-10) Pick: Brian Kelleher
Chase Sherman (14-6) vs Isaac Villanueva (16-9) Pick: Isaac Villanueva