Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne’

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FEATHERWEIGHTS

Makwan Amirkhani (11-2, 1-0 UFC) vs. Masio Fullen (10-4, 1-0 UFC): The charismatic Amirkhani, who goes by “Mr. Finland,” returns after an eight-second flying knee knockout of Andy Ogle in his promotional debut. His opponent will be Masio Fullen, a member of Team Mexico on “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” who won a split decision over Alex Torres in February. Despite debuting with a stylish strike, Amirkhani is actually more of a big, strong, opportunistic wrestle-grappler than a muay Thai savant. Fullen is a decent combination striker who can wrestle a bit, but that is essentially it. This is a showcase matchup for “Mr. Finland,” and he should finish this early. The pick is Amirkhani by submission in the first round.

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Mairbek Taisumov (23-5, 3-1 UFC) vs. Alan Patrick Silva Alves (12-0, 2-0 UFC): This is a good matchup, even if it lacks name value. Chechnya’s Taisumov rebounded from a rough loss to Michel Richard Cunha dos Prazeres with devastating knockouts over Marcin Bandel and Anthony Christodolou, while the Brazilian Alves most recently defeated John Makdessi in February 2014. The Chechen is a fantastic athlete with big power and great quickness, which he backs up with well-rounded skills. He is potent striker with an active feinting game, vicious low kicks, a sharp spinning back kick and a strong wrestling base. The Brazilian is a product of X-Gym, alongside such fighters as Ronaldo Souza and Erick Silva, and he is reminiscent of them in terms of size and physicality. He likes a rangy kicking game from his southpaw stance, wrestles reasonably well and has a fantastic top game on the ground. This is a razor-thin fight, but I favor the Chechen’s less flashy but more active and more powerful game. The pick is Taisumov by decision.

FEATHERWEIGHTS

Alan Omer (18-4, 0-1 UFC) vs. Arnold Allen (9-1, 0-0 UFC): Former top prospect Omer, a native of Germany, takes on late-notice replacement Allen in an excellent scrap at 145 pounds. Allen is a highly regarded prospect, while Omer debuted in the UFC with a razor-thin decision loss to Jim Alers in April 2014. Omer is well-rounded, athletic and seriously talented, with a potent and technical striking arsenal backed up with solid wrestling and aggressive grappling. Allen is only 21 and has major talent. He strikes with increasing aplomb from his southpaw stance, but his real strength lies in his trips and throws from the clinch and his vicious, bombing strikes from top position. Unless Allen can get the fight to the floor early and often, this is Omer’s to lose with his faster, more powerful striking. The pick is Omer by decision.

FEATHERWEIGHTS

Niklas Backstrom (8-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Noad Lahat (8-1, 1-1 UFC): Sweden’s Backstrom draws Israel’s Lahat in a fun matchup of featherweight up-and-comers. The Israeli ate a flying knee from Godofredo Castro in his debut but rebounded with a decision win over Steven Siler. Backstrom choked out Tom Niinimaki in his debut and then fell to a Mike Wilkinson right hand in his return engagement. The Swede is an elite prospect who makes great use of his rangy 6-foot frame in every phase. He utilizes an array of long front, round and side kicks on the feet, has tremendous leverage on his trips and throws in the clinch and drops vicious strikes from the top. Lahat is basically a wrestle-grappler with slick submissions, decent but relentless takedowns and more game than technical striking on the feet. Backstrom should be able to stuff Lahat’s takedowns and force him to fight in the clinch and on the feet, where he has a substantial advantage. The pick is Backstrom by knockout in the second round.

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Scott Askham (12-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Antonio Dos Santos Jr. (6-2, 0-1 UFC): Talented middleweights Askham and dos Santos dropped their UFC debuts, the Englishman to Magnus Cedenblad and the Brazilian to Daniel Sarafian, and look to get back on track here. Askham, the former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion, has an extremely rangy 6-foot-3 frame that he puts to good use with long kicks and great leverage in the clinch, but he struggles to defend takedowns. That seems unlikely to be a problem against the bruising dos Santos, whose game consists mostly of vicious punching combinations in the pocket. Assuming this mostly stays on the feet, it should favor the Englishman’s range and accuracy. The pick is Askham by decision.

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Piotr Hallmann (15-3, 2-2 UFC) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (11-1, 0-0 UFC): Poland’s Hallmann draws debuting Dagestani Mustafaev in an intriguing lightweight scrap. Hallmann has alternated wins and losses, most recently dropping a decision to Gleison Tibau after which he tested positive for steroids. Mustafaev has beaten excellent competition on the regional scene, most notably Abubakar Nurmagomedov, brother of the UFC’s Khabib Nurmagomedov. Hallmann is well-rounded and works at a great pace, with nice head-body combinations at range, solid wrestling and good work from the top. Mustafaev is a decorated combat sambo practitioner, with the characteristic mixture of powerful but limited striking, solid chain wrestling and an excellent all-around grappling game. I think the Pole should be able to stuff Mustafaev’s takedowns and outwork him on the feet, so the pick is Hallmann by decision.

BANTAMWEIGHTS

Taylor Lapilus (9-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Yuta Sasaki (18-2-2, 1-1 UFC): Lapilus and Sasaki open the card with an excellent matchup of prospects from opposite sides of the world. The Frenchman Lapilus won his promotional debut only two months ago, taking a one-sided decision from Rocky Lee, while Sasaki dropped his last effort to Leandro Issa after a successful first scrap against Roland Delorme. The 23-year-old Lapilus has shown massive improvements in his last several fights, putting together clean and frequent punch-kick combinations at range, tightening up his formerly porous takedown defense and sharpening his signature guillotine. Sasaki is an ultra-creative grappler with nice clinch takedowns and a preference for utilizing kicks at range. While Lapilus could give Sasaki trouble at range, I think the Japanese fighter will be able to work his takedowns and snag a choke in transition. The pick is Sasaki by submission in the second round.

Follow Sherdog.com preview expert Patrick Wyman on Twitter.