Preview: UFC Fight Night 242 ‘Burns vs. Brady’

Lightweights

Trevor Peek (9-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. Yanal Ashmoz (7-1, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Peek (-120), Ashmoz (+100)

This is matched for action, but then again, that’s true of most Peek fights. Peek has rightfully earned cult favorite status. He’s among the least technically sound fighters on the UFC roster, but his aggression and durability has made for some wild brawls that tap into the id of most mixed martial arts fans. After suffering his first loss to Jose Mariscal in 2023—a result that has aged surprisingly well—Peek has tried to smarten up his game a bit, mixing in some wrestling against Mohammad Yahya and having some spots of patience against Charlie Campbell. At the end of the day, it still doesn’t take much to get Peek to start swinging hammers, and this bout against Israel’s Ashmoz looks to turn into a slugfest at some point.

Ashmoz has better technique to his game, but he follows a similarly aggressive approach. Undersized and athletic, he usually springs into action looking for either a knockout or a big takedown. That worked perfectly in his UFC debut, a 75-second knockout of Sam Patterson, but a subsequent decision loss to Chris Duncan was a surprisingly flat performance for Ashmoz—until it came out that he broke his wrist in the opening moments of the fight. If nothing else, that allowed Ashmoz to display some toughness that should serve him well here. Add in that Ashmoz has the athleticism to hang with the Alabama native and enough wrestling in his back pocket to slow things down as needed, and the Israeli should be able to ride out the proverbial Peek rollercoaster and wind up with a win. The pick is Ashmoz via decision.

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Burns vs. Brady
Silva vs. Andrade
Garcia vs. Nelson
Schnell vs. Durden
Peek vs. Ashmoz
Rong vs. Padilla
The Prelims