Preview: UFC Fight Night 229 Prelims

Bantamweights

Qileng Aori (24-10, 2-3 UFC) vs. Johnny Munoz Jr. (12-3, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Aori (-112), Munoz (-108)

Aori has been figuring some things out at bantamweight, even though his last fight was a bit of a setback. Initially a flyweight upon his UFC debut, he fought with an aggressive style befitting his “Mongolian Murderer” nickname, but the Chinese competitor has slowly been adapting to a more thoughtful approach. Moving up to 135 pounds helped alleviate some of Aori’s previous cardio issues, and his last few fights have seen him tend to wait on his opponent before unleashing some powerful counters. That was an effective idea against Cameron Else and Jay Perrin, but Aiemann Zahabi just kept exchanges going and quickly found a knockout in June, leaving Aori to pick up the pieces and try to rebound in his latest assignment. Munoz came to the UFC in 2020 with some grappling skills and little else, which came back to bite him in his UFC debut against Nathan Maness. Munoz controlled most of the fight but did so little in terms of effective offense that Maness was still given the decision victory. When “Kid Kvenbo” made his return a year later, he showed some progress in building what is now a technically sound if unexciting striking game. Given an opponent he can outmaneuver, Munoz is willing to stick to the basics and coast out a slow-paced decision. With Aori looking to counter and Munoz also staying within himself, this could be a slow-paced range battle that either man can win, though the Chinese fighter probably gets the nod as the harder shot-for-shot hitter. There is also the question of Aori’s takedown defense, which Munoz might find himself able to exploit. In general, the lean is that Aori can survive three rounds and land the harder offense wherever this fight takes place, even though it might not be all that scintillating along the way. The pick is Aori via decision.

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Aori vs. Munoz Jr.
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