Preview: UFC 268 Prelims

Flyweights

NR | Ode Osbourne (9-4, 1-2 UFC) vs. NR | C.J. Vergara (9-2-1, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Osbourne (-170), Vergara (+150)

The flyweight division continues to deliver fun fights under the radar—a trend that should continue here. It is still unclear if Osbourne will find much long-term success at the UFC level, but “The Jamaican Sensation” has clearly brought the action thus far. Coming into the UFC as a lanky bantamweight, Osbourne was just content to make stuff happen, which usually worked in the form of a quick armbar or knockout on the regional scene. However, Osbourne quickly got a rude awakening in his UFC debut in the form of a Brian Kelleher guillotine, and his last two fights have continued that kill-or-be-killed approach, with the Waukesha MMA product scoring a knockout of Jerome Rivera and getting knocked out by Manel Kape, all in the first round. Osbourne’s next challenge comes in the form of a recent Dana White’s Contender Series standout in Vergara, who makes his debut. Texas’ Vergara seemed like a standard-issue scrapper prior to his showing on DWCS, but he greatly impressed in a quick win over Bruno Mesquita to earn a UFC contract, quickly blitzing the former “Ultimate Fighter” competitor before finishing him with a brutal clinch knee to the body. There is not much separating these two, so this should basically just be a coinflip of a high-paced war until someone gets finished. Vergara has been cracked before but never knocked out, so while there is a decent chance that Osbourne is the guy who can finish that job, the bet is that the Octagon rookie is the one more able to survive a brutal fight. This one is more about the action than the result, but the pick is Vergara via second-round knockout.