Preview: UFC on ESPN 63 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday closes out its 2024 campaign at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, and does so with a decent preliminary slate attached. Lightweights lead the way here: Michael Jackson returns to action against Ottman Azaitar in an encounter that should end in a knockout, while Joel Alvarez meets Drakkar Klose in an expertly matched affair that could send the winner into the Top 15. Intrigue exists elsewhere, too. Sean Woodson and Fernando Padilla collide in a battle between two of the tallest featherweights on the roster, and late-notice featherweight scrap between full-time bantamweights Miles Johns and Felipe Lima could put the victor in position to make some major waves. From there, a bantamweight clash pitting Davey Grant against Ramon Tavares stands out as a potentially exciting affair.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 63 prelims:

Lightweights

Michael Johnson (22-19, 14-15 UFC) vs. Ottman Azaitar (13-2, 2-2 UFC)

ODDS: Johnson (-192), Azaitar (+160)

Johnson persists. “The Menace” has had a career with some outstanding highs. He handed Tony Ferguson his only loss over the course of a decade in 2012, and his 2016 campaign saw him knock out Dustin Poirier in 95 seconds and even stun Khabib Nurmagomedov. It has also come with some depressing lows. For as fast-handed and dangerous as Johnson was at his best, he was also a frontrunner who was prone to poor decisions, which led to him folding against opponent after opponent willing to consistently pressure, particularly those who pursued their wrestling. A 2021 loss to Clay Guida capped off a disheartening four-fight losing streak for Johnson and also marked his seventh loss in nine outings. It figured to be the end of Johnson’s relevance until a funny thing happened: He righted the ship enough to settle in as an effective and entertaining veteran. Johnson has enough natural athleticism to survive some slippage in his late 30s, and his years of experience have made him as crafty as ever, allowing him to coast by in some entertaining wins in his last handful of fights. Even his recent losses have come with some positives. He probably deserved the decision against Jamie Mullarkey, and he was doing quite well against Diego Ferreira until what seemed like a low-percentage knockout blow. Johnson’s contender status has long since passed, but he can keep doing this as long as he wants for the time being, and this should be an entertaining affair against Azaitar.

Born in Germany and representing Morocco, Azaitar was one of the Middle East’s better prospects when the UFC picked him up in 2019. He didn’t have the cleanest or most imposing bag of skills, but he proved to be a standout as a knockout artist, finishing most of his regional opposition once he was able to track it down. That held true in his first two UFC bouts, both quick knockouts, but “Bulldozer” has since hit a hard ceiling against Matt Frevola and Francisco Prado, who were able to match Azaitar’s horsepower with much more complete games. Johnson could get clipped here, but his combination of speed and power should be enough to keep his momentum going throughout this fight, particularly since Azaitar doesn’t figure to test his wrestling much. The pick is Johnson via second-round knockout.

Jump To »
Johnson vs. Azaitar
Alvarez vs. Klose
Woodson vs. Padilla
Lima vs. Johns
Maverick vs. Horth
Taveras vs. Grant
Knutsson vs. Rodriguez