Preview: UFC Fight Night 168 ‘Felder vs. Hooker’

Lightweights

Jalin Turner (8-5, -210) vs. Joshua Culibao (8-0, +175): Turner fits purely into the raw but promising mold that marks a ton of his fellow Dana White’s Contender Series alums. As a 6-foot-3 lightweight, Turner is an absolutely massive knockout artist, but the UFC threw him to the wolves in record time, signing him for a debut up a weight class against Vicente Luque, who ran through him as expected. When “The Tarantula” can get things going, it is a pleasure to watch, but his last fight against Matt Frevola also showed that there is some work to do, as the Long Islander managed to implement his wrestling and earn a win without much trouble. Turner gets a step back here against a newcomer and late replacement in Culibao, who looks like an entertaining enough striker but figures to play right into the hands of the much more powerful and physically imposing opponent. The pick is Turner via first-round knockout.

Welterweights

Jake Matthews (15-4, -240) vs. Emil Meek (9-4-1, +200): Matthews has never quite become the next big Australian star some envisioned when he made his UFC debut at the tender age of 19, but he has still managed to put together a solid career. Matthews has always been at his best when he can get his grappling game going, but he has filled that out with a solid enough kickboxing game that he can rely on that when the situation calls for it. There has been a clear ceiling, though. Matthews has still struggled against opponents who can match him in a grind, and any major step up in competition has typically resulted in a loss. He will look to hold serve against Meek, who was an interesting prospect upon his late-2016 debut but does not have much to show for the last four-plus years. Meek is an absolute powerhouse and will always be dangerous, but his last fight back in 2018—a loss to Bartosz Fabinski—exposed his woefully poor wrestling skills. The Norwegian’s physical strength alone may give Matthews some trouble, as he is still not too far removed from struggling with Bojan Velickovic, but “The Celtic Kid” showed against Rostem Akman that he can fall back on a passive striking game if needed against a more raw and powerful striker. The pick is Matthews via decision, though it may not be pretty.

Welterweights

Kenan Song (15-5, -185) vs. Callan Potter (18-8, +160): If nothing else, this fight matches two fighters who have found unexpected success on the UFC roster. Potter did not figure to do much after getting the call as a late replacement. A longtime veteran of the Australian fight scene, he was the sort of unathletic scrapper with aggressive wrestling that had washed out of the UFC under different names many times before. Jalin Turner annihilated him in under a minute, but Potter surprisingly won his second UFC bout against Maki Pitolo, surviving early trouble and eventually wearing out the Hawaiian. He will look to repeat that trick against Song, who at first glance looked like a token signing for a card in Shanghai, given that he was coming off two losses. However, he has managed to win three out of his four UFC bouts to date, and even if it has not been against the best level of competition, “The Assassin” has provided some solid action every time out. The big question involves the strength of Song’s grappling. Even if Song is the much more bricked-up fighter, Potter may still find a way to control the fight through sheer aggression and pressure in the clinch. Still, it is difficult to pick against Song’s physical advantages since he figures to be able to crack Potter at will. Surviving against Pitolo has given Potter some benefit of the doubt when it comes to his durability, but the pick is still Song via clear decision.

Flyweights

Kai Kara-France (20-8, -265) vs. Tyson Nam (18-10-1, +225): His signing with the UFC was long overdue, but New Zealand’s Kara-France has made up for lost time, winning three of his four UFC bouts and turning himself into a fringe contender at 125 pounds. The Kiwi has an interesting but simple skill set, mostly based around his power and physicality. That has been enough to dispatch most of his opponents, but his fight against Brandon Moreno showed there may be a ceiling to that approach. Given how often Kara-France fights, he will probably find himself back in contention sooner rather than later, and that comeback starts here. Nam’s signing was a pleasant surprise given that he had spent over 13 years fighting nearly everywhere except for a major promotion, and the Hawaiian’s brawling style should make this exciting. Nam’s pressure and volume give him a solid chance at an upset, but Kara-France figures to hit the harder shots. The pick is Kara-France via decision in a possible “Fight of the Night.”

Women’s Strawweights

Angela Hill (11-7, -200) vs. Konklak Suphisara (4-1, +170): Suphisara is the most interesting recent entry into the UFC’s strawweight division. Beyond being the promotion’s first Thai fighter, she is a muay Thai prodigy and wields one of the most destructive clinch games in the sport as a result. It will be fascinating to see how far that can take her and how well she can round out her skills. She will probably always have some trouble due to the fact that she is a natural atomweight, but taking a decision off the bricked-up Aleksandra Albu was a step in the right direction. She will take on a late replacement in Hill, who is already making her second appearance of 2020. Hill might finally be turning a corner. She got thrown into the deep end of the sport extremely early in her career and has been frustratingly inconsistent, though she is coming off excellent performances against Ariane Carnelossi and Hannah Cifers. This is a tricky matchup for Hill, given that it is strength against strength in terms of the clinch, so there is a solid chance Suphisara can just wreck shop there and not have to worry about the rest. However, between mixed martial arts experience, size and having more skills on which to fall back—wrestling in particular—one almost has to favor Hill. This might be the toughest pick on the card, but the call is Hill via decision.

Welterweights

Takashi Sato (15-3, -120) vs. Maki Pitolo (12-5, +100): Pitolo’s UFC debut certainly did not go as planned. The Hawaiian has shown some potential throughout his career—as far as raw brawlers go, Pitolo does possess an excellent ability to string together some brutal combinations—but everything fell apart against Callan Potter in October. “Coconut Bombz” uncorked some offense, but Potter refused to go away and continued to make things a grind, exhausting Pitolo on his way to a clear decision victory. Pitolo will try to make good on a second chance to make a first impression against Japan’s Sato, who has some power of his own but with a much different approach, choosing instead to snipe away with a patient counter-striking game. Pitolo could just get picked off, but his willingness to throw volume and combinations should serve him well against the much more patient Sato, especially if this comes down to who is going to land the first knockout blow. The pick is Pitolo via second-round knockout.

Women’s Flyweights

Shana Dobson (3-3, -175) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (8-3, +155): Despite showing little in the way of UFC-level skill, Cachoeira gets a fourth chance at a win inside the Octagon. The Brazilian was on the receiving end of one of the UFC’s cruelest bookings when she debuted against Valentina Shevchenko in 2018, and after taking a year to recover from her injuries, “Pedrita” has been little more than a durable and aggressive brawler. Dobson should be able to handle that. She has been slowed a bit by injuries and inactivity, but she has shown a well-rounded starter kit of skills and should find a way to hit Cachoeira before the Brazilian lands one of her looping punches. Cachoeira’s aggression may make this an uncomfortable fight for Dobson, but it is difficult not to see the American landing the much more effective offense. The pick is Dobson via decision.