Preview: UFC Fight Night 117 ‘St. Preux vs. Okami’

Welterweights

Alex Morono (13-3) vs. Keita Nakamura (32-8-2): To most, Morono is an anonymous roster fighter with a mediocre record in the Octagon. In actuality, his UFC tenure has been surprising and enthusing. He came in on a week’s notice for Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 195 and upset Kyle Noke; he was rock-solid in his win over James Moontasri; and he was taking the undefeated Niko Price to the woodshed before he was knocked out at the second-round horn. He does not do it with technique, and despite a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Morono is essentially a straightforward brawler. Even within the brawler paradigm, his striking his untamed and erratic, yet he manages to land devastating overhands and hooks against much more seasoned strikers. Nakamura is very much the opposite, at least in the standup, jabbing and countering from a tight southpaw stance. Like Morono, however, Nakamura sometimes eschews his grappling -- his nickname is “The 10th Degree Black Belt in Rear-Naked Chokes” -- in favor of boxing, which does not always work well for him. Nakamura is no defensive slouch, but he is prone to getting hit with exactly the kind of wild, wacky strikes Morono launches with regularity. If “K-Taro” applies his grappling early and can get Morono’s back, the Texan is in trouble. However, with Nakamura’s career-long Achilles heel playing so favorably into Morono’s heavy hands, “The Great White” figures to pick up his third UFC win by knockout.

Flyweights

Jussier da Silva (19-5) vs. Yuta Sasaki (20-4-2): da Silva is a perennially elite flyweight without much personality whose entire game is predicated on back mount; in other words, he is not exactly the sort of guy for which the UFC will do any favors when it comes to matchmaking. Good fortune smiles upon him here, however, as he gets perhaps the most appealing style matchup of his Octagon run so far. Sasaki is a lengthy, lithe grappler who is both great positionally and slick. As a 5-foot-10 flyweight, he uses his height and leverage to help him set up strong clinch takedowns. However, “Formiga” is better at nearly everything he is good at, right down to the fact that Sasaki’s greatest skill is his ability to take the back; da Silva is perhaps the sport’s premiere back-taking threat. While “Ulka” has four inches of reach on the squatty Brazilian, da Silva is a stout kickboxer and has surprisingly nifty hands. If “Formiga” wants a striking battle, he may actually be able to flex here. However, as we saw in Sasaki’s bouts with Leandro Issa and Wilson Reis, a superior wrestler with better grappling fundamentals is nearly kryptonite for him. Even if da Silva does not get the rear-naked choke, he will put hands on Sasaki en route to a couple stints in back mount and win on points.

Women's Strawweights

Chanmi Jeon (5-1) vs. Syuri Kondo (5-0): Women’s strawweight is one of the best divisions in all of MMA, and this fight, an afterthought on an admittedly weak card, is proof of that. In her UFC debut in June, J.J. Aldrich showed that Jeon, who just turned 20 a month ago, is still rough around the edges. However, Jeon’s aggressive style, predicated on punching her way into the clinch and then dominating with dirty boxing, is effective and should become even more enhanced as she improves and polishes her game. Kondo is a Japanese renaissance throwback. Originally trained as a pro wrestler by former WWE and ECW star Tajiri, she has branched off into pro kickboxing and Shoot Boxing and holds Pancrase’s 115-pound women’s title, to boot. Her style is very much like Jeon’s but with more technical refinement, as she has more skills as a ranged fighter and an out-fighter. She is not nearly as aggressive as her Korean counterpart, but once she gets a read on her foe, she goes to work with eight-pointed striking, landing from the outside, darting into the clinch to land more and then dipping back out. If this turns into a fight in a phone booth, we should be in for a treat as both women sock each other with hooks, uppercuts, knees and elbows. However, as the classier striker who can excel at multiple ranges, as well as the fact she can fall back on her takedowns and superior grappling, Kondo on the scorecards is the pick.

Welterweights

Shinsho Anzai (7-1) vs. Luke Jumeau (12-3): It seems unfair to put the card’s smoke break fight second from the top, but here we are. The most interesting thing about Anzai is that he is a 5-foot-9 former heavyweight who used to fight in a singlet. As that attire may suggest, he is a standard-issue wrestler and not much more. He throws lumbering punches to close the distance, then attempts to dirty box to set up single- and double-leg takedowns. There is nothing remarkable about Jumeau’s game, save for that he is tough and hits hard. However, Jumeau’s successful UFC debut against Dominique Steele in June is instructive. Steele is a better fighter than Anzai, but Jumeau’s heavy hitting forced “Non-Stop Action Packed” to turn to takedowns for the final 10 minutes of the fight. Steele spent the last two rounds fruitlessly driving Jumeau into the fence while the Aussie pummeled, defended and pounded on him for his efforts. Anzai may be a better wrestler than Steele, but he is not good enough to atone for his one-dimensional game, especially considering that Jumeau just won a UFC bout three months ago by doing exactly the same things he will need to do here. “The Jedi” wins via knockout or an ugly, prosaic decision.

Welterweights

Daichi Abe (5-0) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (13-6-1): The show assuredly will start with violence. At 6-foot-3 and with a 79-inch reach, Lim is one of the most monstrous specimens you will ever come across at 170 pounds, and his fight style is based on that physicality. Lim may have a bit of a jab, yet he tends to quickly eschew it in favor of swarming his smaller opponents with wild strikes, segueing into the clinch, where he fires off massive knees. As evidenced by his nearly knocking out Tarec Saffiedine while standing on one leg, he is as tough as it gets and hits hard. His mentality assures that this fight will be feast or famine for “The Ace.” If he does not overwhelm the unbeaten Abe, things could get ugly in a hurry. Abe, the welterweight King of Pancrase, is a devastating striker, albeit an unconventional one of sorts. He often leaves his hands down, and when he is rushed -- as Lim will certainly do -- he tends to run backwards in a seemingly panicked state rather than blocking or circling. However, there is a method to his madness. Abe’s hands are insanely fast and nearly all of his knockouts come from right-hand counters in wild exchanges; he essentially uses his backpedaling to set up perfect punching range on bullish opponents before turning out their lights. Beyond his one-shot power and hand speed, it is hard to watch Abe’s fights and the way he disposes of his opposition and not see how perfectly Lim’s “dash and gong” style plays into his hands. Lim may quickly engulf Abe, but it is more likely that he is going to run into a lightning-fast counter right hook and eat the Octagon floor in the first 10 minutes.