Welterweights
Andre Fialho (16-7, 2-4 UFC) vs. Tim Means (32-15-1, 14-12 UFC)This compelling scrap might be the highlight of the prelims, as these two still have a lot to offer despite a lack of recent success. Means had a forgettable first UFC run as a lightweight, but he has been a stalwart of the welterweight division since making his return in 2014. A brawler by heart, “The Dirty Bird” has always backed up that aggression with an impressive level of technique, a combination that allowed him to stay in opponents’ faces and overwhelm them over and over again. Looking back, Means’ peak—at least in terms of success—may have been as far back as 2016, when he was tabbed for a main event against Donald Cerrone that got scrapped thanks to the New Mexico native being the victim of some tainted supplements. However, he remained a perennial tough out for the next few years even as a new generation of fighters was able to move ahead of him. Even then, a string of wins over Laureano Staropoli, Mike Perry and Nicolas Dalby showed that Means could still beat a solid assortment of opponents as recently as 2021. While Means is still every bit the technical brawler he was in his younger days, his last three fights—all losses—have seen him hurt more often than in the past, getting submitted by Kevin Holland and Alex Morono in the process. That leads to some worry for a 39-year-old with nearly two decades in the fighting game and makes for an interesting pairing against Fialho, who has the skills to get an impressive win but needs to get over his own hurdles here. Fialho made his UFC debut at the beginning of 2022 and managed to pack five fights into the calendar year, giving a solid accounting of his strengths and weaknesses. At his best, Fialho has an effective pressure game with some knockout power but quickly tends to get uncomfortable against an opponent who can survive the early going. Fialho is capable of pivoting to some other ideas, but it has yet to get him over the finish line against a UFC-level opponent and typically leads to his getting finished late. While he staved off Joaquin Buckley in the early going with a less aggressive game plan, it is concerning that it still led to Fialho suffering another knockout loss. There is a chance that Fialho clocks Means with enough big shots to win two out of three rounds, if not score an outright knockout. Still, the lean is that Means can come out ahead in enough exchanges to take the win, even if his willingness to take one to give two will need to make this a bit of a tightrope performance. The pick is Means via decision.
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Fialho vs. Means
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