Preview: UFC Fight Night 199 Prelims

Heavyweights

NR | Don'Tale Mayes (8-4, 1-2 UFC) vs. NR | Josh Parisian (14-4, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Mayes (-190), Parisian (+165)

Deceptively mobile heavyweights square off in this pairing. Parisian’s path to the UFC was a bit longer than it should have been. He stepped in on short notice to win his Dana White’s Contender Series bout in 2018 with a spinning backfist, only to be rewarded with a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter” instead of a contract outright. Parisian eventually made it to the Octagon in 2020, though results have been mixed in his two UFC bouts thus far. Parisian is very much from the school of throwing one wild strike at a time and hoping things work out, but he found himself unable to score a knockout against Parker Porter and lost a grinding decision as a result. While he rebounded with a win over Roque Martinez in June, it was an uglier affair than one would hope, with Parisian tiring late and winning a surprisingly narrow decision. Nevertheless, Parisian looks to continue that momentum against a fellow DWCS alum in Mayes. It took three tries on the Contender Series for Mayes to earn a contract. He is an impressive physical specimen with some surprising nimbleness for his frame, but despite his length and relative speed, he finds himself unable to keep opponents at bay. Ciryl Gane was essentially an unwinnable first fight in the UFC for Mayes, but after Rodrigo Nascimento exposed his lack of grappling defense, “Lord Kong” scored his own win over the much slower Martinez. Parisian’s pressure should find some success here, which gives him the better chance of finding the early knockout, but his suspect gas tank means that Mayes should take this fight over the long haul, despite his lack of reliability. This figures to devolve into a messy affair, and the pick is Mayes via decision.

Finish Reading » Leavitt vs. Sayles