Preview: UFC Fight Night 194 Prelims

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest offering at the UFC Apex on Saturday in Las Vegas sees some solid happenings on the UFC Fight Night 194 undercard. A bantamweight battle between Chris Gutierrez and Felipe Dias Colares takes the featured slot, as the former gets another chance to build on a surprisingly successful run that has mostly gone under the radar. Meanwhile, Alexander Romanov, one of the heavyweight division’s most intriguing prospects, gets a tough test against Jared Vanderaa, and the featherweight clash pitting Charles Rosa against Damon Jackson promises to pump up the entertainment volume.

Now to the preview for the UFC Fight Night “Dern vs. Rodriguez” prelims:

Bantamweights

NR | Chris Gutierrez (16-4-2, 4-1-1 UFC) vs. NR | Felipe Dias Colares (10-2, 2-2 UFC)

ODDS: Gutierrez (-250), Colares (+210)

After an unsuccessful UFC debut against Raoni Barcelos in 2018, Gutierrez has quietly been one of the bantamweight division’s most successful fighters, going undefeated in his last five bouts. However, “El Guapo” has a style built to fly under the radar, as his approach mostly focuses on neutralizing and slowing down his opponents. Gutierrez is evasive and steady, rarely shifting into a second gear, though he did score an impressive finish over Vince Morales in May 2020, chopping him down with the leg kicks that are the best part of his game. That lack of dynamism might be why the UFC is reluctant to give him a huge step up in such a deep division. Instead, Gutierrez gets another tough but underrated challenge in Colares. The Brazilian certainly provides a stylistic contrast to Gutierrez, as “Cabocao” is a pressuring brawler who looks to eventually overwhelm and outwrestle his opponents. That has led to some impressively gritty wins over Domingo Pilarte and Luke Sanders, but Colares’ loss to Montel Jackson showed how that approach can go south, as he mostly served as a damage sponge despite his best efforts to turn around a one-sided beating.

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This is a difficult fight to call, particularly since Colares is probably the most dedicated pressure fighter Gutierrez has faced since Barcelos; if not, that honor would go to Cody Durden, who managed to take a draw from Gutierrez on the back of a one-sided and wrestling-heavy first round. Gutierrez could just stay quicker and land at will on Colares for three rounds as the Brazilian plods forward, but the bet is that the Team Nogueira product can stay relentless enough to wear down the American and turn this into a grind. This is a well-matched fight, as both men ride a razor’s edge to victory in completely opposite ways. The pick is Colares via decision.

Continue Reading » Romanov vs. Vanderaa