Preview: UFC 279 Prelims

Bantamweights

Heili Alateng (15-8-2, 3-1-1 UFC) vs. Chad Anheliger (12-5, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Alateng (-170), Anheliger (+145)

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This should be an interesting litmus test for two bantamweights who are still a bit hard to pin down. Anheliger has one of the more impressive career turnarounds ever for a fighter who made it to the UFC. A pro since 2010, Anheliger was not even a consistently winning fighter on the Canadian regional scene until 2016, after which a two-year layoff and camp change caused him to suddenly string together victory after victory. The Albertan certainly has the game of a well-traveled vet. Anheliger is not a dynamic force, but he has been consistently able to turn back younger and better athletes by finding ways to neutralize or outlast his opponents and turn things around in the latter stretches of his fights. It results in some thin margins—his decision win over Muin Gafurov on the Contender Series was a coinflip, and he seemed set to lose his UFC debut to Jesse Strader before a third-round knockout—but it is a testament to Anheliger’s hard work that he has made it to this point. He will take on China’s Alateng, who has had an inconsistent UFC career thus far. Given the opportunity, “The Mongolian Knight” can be a fearsome hitter, but he can too often be taken out of his game by aggressive opponents, as he seems to prefer having time to figure out his next move. A 47-second knockout of Kevin Croom in April was a nice reminder that Alateng can quickly make his issues a moot point, but this should be a bit of a strange pairing. Anheliger may not give Alateng the type of fight the Chinese fighter would prefer, but it also seems unlikely that the Canadian can force a particular advantage to break this open. This should be relatively even, and with Alateng being the harder hitter, he gets the nod. The pick is Alateng via decision.

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