Preview: UFC Fight Night 185 Prelims

IN ONE ROUND.@JaredVanderaa opened the night with RELENTLESS finishing shots

[ Tune in on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/UCQSGCS7tY

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2020

Heavyweight

NR | Sergey Spivak (11-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. NR | Jared Vanderaa (11-4, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Spivak (-240), Vanderaa (+200)

Vanderaa’s win on Dana White’s Contender Series was not particularly impressive—he looked slow and hittable before overwhelming Harry Hunsucker through sheer size—but it was enough to earn “The Mountain” both a contract and the opponent for whom he asked. Spivak has looked much better since a quick knockout loss to Walt Harris in his UFC debut. He is not particularly powerful or intimidating, but “The Polar Bear” has a surprisingly effective array of unorthodox throws and showed some solid striking against a plodding Carlos Felipe in July. It is easy to see why Vanderaa called out the Moldovan: Spivak’s lack of size and knockout power makes him an opponent the Team Quest rep believes he can overwhelm and smother. However, it seems just as likely that Vanderaa will be too slow to make his approach work while Spivak plugs away at him from range. This figures to be an ugly fight. The pick is Spivak via decision.