Women’s Strawweights
Marina Rodriguez (10-0-1) vs. Jessica Aguilar (20-7): This was originally a fascinating fight between Rodriguez and Alexa Grasso, but with latter out, the door was opened for Jessica Aguilar. Once the consensus top strawweight in the world, it was Aguilar’s signing with the World Series of Fighting that finally prompted the UFC to start its own roster at 115 pounds. However, since Aguilar has made her way to the Octagon, her lack of athleticism has made it a struggle against a vast swath of the UFC’s younger fighters. It will probably be the same story here against Rodriguez, as Aguilar’s grappling-heavy game is a bad match for the undefeated Brazilian’s powerful clinch striking. The pick is Rodriguez via first-round knockout. ODDS: Rodriguez (-300), Aguilar (+250)Advertisement
Bantamweights
Ray Borg (11-3) vs. Casey Kenney (11-1-1): It is good to see Borg back in the cage, as things have been rough since he was last in it. Borg unsuccessfully challenged Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title in late 2017 and has been out for the last year and a half thanks to a ton of bad luck. Borg has had to pull out of multiple fights due to medical issues -- including an injury suffered in the infamous Conor McGregor bus attack -- and all the while has had to deal with his newborn son suffering from brain cancer. In the meantime, his weight class has basically been eliminated, so the Albuquerque, New Mexico, native moves up to 135 pounds here. Even this fight faced its own issues, as Kenney marks Borg’s third scheduled opponent. In contrast to Borg’s long layoff, Kenney just won a Legacy Fighting Alliance title in 98 seconds on March 22. That marked his first finish in over two years, so it was a case of excellent timing. However, Kenney is a UFC-worthy fighter as a patient kickboxer who can rely on a solid grappling game when needed. He is a live underdog here, as Borg has struggled in the past against long kickboxers -- Justin Scoggins in particular -- and Kenney knows how to dictate a range. With that said, Borg’s speed should be a positive factor for “The Tazmexican Devil,” and with Kenney making his second weight cut in a week, he should be able to take over late. The pick is Borg via third-round submission.Lightweights
Ross Pearson (20-15) vs. Desmond Green (21-8): Pearson never quite became the big British star for which the UFC probably hoped, but he has been a perfectly effective and exciting mid-tier lightweight and hung around long enough to be surprisingly high on some career leaderboards. While Pearson has slowly moved down the card as being a limited striker becomes less and less effective, he turned things around a bit in 2018. A win over Mizuto Hirota was his first in five fights, and his last bout against John Makdessi was a show-stealing war. He will take on Green, who was a surprising signing in 2017 if only because he is not all that exciting; and the New Yorker has indeed mostly neutralized his opponents into unmemorable three-round fights. He figures to do the same here. Neither man really puts a huge stamp on things at this point, but Green’s quicker athleticism and the possibility of his implementing a wrestling game give him the narrow nod. The pick is Green via decision, but this has split verdict written all over it. ODDS: Green (-445), Pearson (+355)Featherweights
Enrique Barzola (15-3-1) vs. Kevin Aguilar (16-1): It only took four straight wins, but at least Barzola is finally off of UFC Fight Pass. Peru’s Barzola has followed in the footsteps of fellow “Ultimate Fighter Latin America” alumni and done much better than expected. Through six UFC fights, his only loss is a decision to Kyle Bochniak that seemingly everyone thinks he won. However, it is also easy to see why the UFC has not made pushing Barzola a priority, as his game centers around some janky striking and an effective but not particularly exciting wrestling game. Aguilar might be able to bring a war out of him, though. Aguilar had been on the verge of a UFC call-up for a while, which made it disappointing when he had a lackluster performance on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Nevertheless, he got the call as a late replacement shortly thereafter and showed off his wares against Rick Glenn. Aguilar does not have much process or ability to dictate the terms of the fight, but he is a tough scrapper who can throw with knockout power. Barzola might just be able to grind this one out, but Aguilar’s takedown defense looks passable and the Peruvian is hittable enough that “The Angel of Death” should be able to connect with some bombs over the course of 15 minutes. The pick is Aguilar via third-round stoppage. ODDS: Barzola (-130), Aguilar (+110)Middleweights
Kevin Holland (13-4) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (28-10): Holland is slowly becoming a must-watch fighter, if only for the sheer amount of swagger with which he fights. He has a bunch of physical talent, but he never looks to maximize it, instead just tending to do whatever comes to his mind at the moment. At his best, he can pick apart and destroy an overmatched John Phillips, but at other times, he is trying flying submissions against Thiago Santos and getting nowhere. If he does something too dumb, Meerschaert should be able to exploit it since that is basically what he does. He is the prototype of a fighter who took the long road to the UFC, as he is an unathletic veteran who cannot really impose a game plan but can hang tough and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. This should be a one-sided fight in practice -- either Meerschaert gets his grappling game going and scores a sub, or Holland just destroys him on the feet -- but it is a hard one to call since it is tough to have a ton of faith in either man. Holland’s ground game looks better than Meerschaert’s striking, so the pick is Holland via decision. However, the real move is to just enjoy whatever weirdness this fight brings. ODDS: Holland (-230), Meerschaert (+190)Last Fights » ESPN+ Prelims
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