UFC Fight Night 99 Preview & Predictions
The UFC feels that just one event is not enough for us MMA fans this weekend, as we will be getting a grand total of two events from the promotion. The first is going to be UFC Fight Night 99, which is headlined by a middleweight division rematch between Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall. Also, Ross Pearson faces Stevie Ray and former Bellator MMA Heavyweight Champion Alexander Volkov debuts.
Main Card
Main Event
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Uriah “Primetime” Hall (12-7-0) vs. Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi (40-6-2)
Hall did win the first encounter between the two, which came via way of second round TKO at UFC Fight Night 75 in September 2015. Mousasi has been undefeated since that loss to Hall, defeating Vitor Belfort, Thiago Santos and Thales Leites. Hall will be competing in his first main event fight for the UFC and he was a finalist on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 17. Mousasi will be competing in his fourth fight thus far in 2016, which is the busiest he has been as a fighter since 2008.
Prediction: Hall has the capabilities to pull the upset again with his explosive striking style, but Mousasi doesn’t rush in like he did the first time and fights a smarter fight to get the decision win.
Co-Main Event
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson (19-12-0-1NC) vs. Stevie “Braveheart” Ray (19-6-0)
Pearson has only won just one of his last four under the UFC banner, that lone win came over Chad Laprise at UFC Fight Night 85. Ray has won three of four in UFC competition, but he is looking to rebound from his first loss in the promotion, which came to Alan Patrick at UFC Fight Night 95. Pearson is coming off of a one fight stint at welterweight, where he lost a decision to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 201. Ray is a former Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion, he defeated a fellow UFC veteran in Curt Warburton to win the belt.
Prediction: Ray is coming into the fight as a late replacement, Pearson uses his boxing to pick him apart and get a third round TKO finish.
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Timothy Johnson (10-2-0) vs. Alexander “Drago” Volkov (26-6-0)
Johnson has won two of three fights under the UFC banner, defeating Shamil Abdurakhimov and Marcin Tybura respectively. Volkov will be making his UFC debut in this fight and he is also a former Bellator MMA Heavyweight Champion. Johnson did defeat UFC veteran Travis Wiuff before signing with the UFC in 2015, that win came at Dakota FC 19 in October 2014. Volkov did defeat a pair of UFC veterans thus far in his career, as he defeated Ricco Rodriguez in 2012 and Vinicius Queiroz in 2012.
Prediction: Johnson will want to get the fight to the ground quickly, but Volkov is going to have a big reach advantage and he finishes Johnson with strikes in the first round.
UFC Featherweight Division Fight
Teruto “Yashabo” Ishihara (9-2-2) vs. Artem “The Russian Hammer” Lobov (12-12-1-1NC)
Ishihara is currently undefeated under the UFC banner, defeating Julian Erosa and Horacio Gutierrez, while fighting Mizuto Hirota to a draw. Lobov has won just one of three fights under the UFC banner, that lone win came over Chris Avila at UFC 202. Ishihara is a longtime veteran of the Shooto promotion, where he earned a total of five wins throughout his pro career. Lobov also made it to the finals of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 22, he lost to Ryan Hall by decision in those finals.
Prediction: Lobov is simply going to charge forward and swing away at Ishihara, but Ishihara is the smarter fighter and he counters Lobov early for the first round finish.
Preliminary Card Quick Picks
Ian McCall over Neil Seery
Jack Marshman over Magnus Cedenblad
Kyoji Horiguchi over Ali Bagautinov
Kevin Lee over Magomed Mustafaev
Anna Elmose over Amanda Cooper
Mark Godbeer over Justin Ledet
Zak Cummings over Alexander Yakovlev
Marion Reneau over Milana Dudieva
Brett Johns over Kwan Ho Kwak
Abdul Razak Al-Hassan over Charlie Ward
