The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to Louisville, Kentucky, for the first time in nearly a decade and a half, and a decent preliminary slate trumpets its arrival at the KFC Yum! Center. Much like the UFC on ESPN 57 main draw, many of these bouts were matched for action, but the featured lightweight prelim between Thiago Moises and Ludovit Klein figures to be one of the better fights on the entire bill. Moises remains on the fringes of the Top 15, while Klein has put together a solid campaign since he moved up to 155 pounds. Beyond that, a high-paced bantamweight battle pitting John Castaneda against Daniel Marcos stands out, as does the latest assignment for strawweight prospect Eduarda Moura, who gets the toughest test of her career when she meets Denis Gomes.
Lightweights
Ludovit Klein (21-4-1, 5-2-1 UFC) vs. Thiago Moises (18-7, 7-5 UFC)ODDS: Klein (-125), Moises (+105)
This is some fun matchmaking, as these two lightweights lost out on some interesting matchups in March, crushed late-notice replacements and get paired off here. Klein has hit his stride at lightweight, as the UFC’s first Slovakian fighter has gone undefeated in five fights since moving up to 155 pounds, but “Mr. Highlight” is still a strange fighter to parse. Klein’s fighting style does feel a bit thin, as it’s mostly built around big kicks from range, swinging for power up close and some spotty wrestling. It has not necessarily a combination that adds up much on paper, but Klein’s horsepower has usually been enough to guide him—or scare his opponents—into his preferred type of fight, even if he has still had to skate by in some instances. An August win over Ignacio Bahamondes was a huge proof of concept, as Klein was able to stay ahead of the type of pressure fighter that gave him fits as a featherweight. After running through A.J. Cunningham, Klein gets an interesting next test in Moises. Brazil’s Moises came to the UFC as a 23-year-old in 2018, and it was remarkable how much he looked like a veteran in terms of his poise. That has also apparently meant that he came to the UFC as a finished product, for better or for worse. Moises settled in on the fringes of the UFC’s rankings almost immediately and has not budged from that spot in the last few years. Moises can do a bit of everything as a credible striker and wrestler with some vicious submission skills, but he’s often too patient for his own good. His willingness to cede initiative allows him to pick his spots against most opponents, but high-level foes have typically found success consistently going after Moises before he can build up any sort of a defense. That makes for an interesting dynamic here, as Klein has the horsepower to get things done but not necessarily the blistering pace to keep Moises on his toes. With that said, Moises also doesn’t have the proclivity to apply pressure that has historically taken Klein out of his game. The other fascinating thing is that both men have increasingly relied on their wrestling to mix things up, which might be where Moises can pry open an advantage, as Klein’s ground game isn’t particularly outstanding in isolation. This is a difficult fight to call, but the pick is Moises via second-round submission.
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Moises vs. Klein
Prates vs. Radtke
Katona vs. Butler
Lee vs. De La Rosa
Marcos vs. Castaneda
Moura vs. Gomes
Lapilus vs. Stamann
Dos Santos vs. Tomar