UFC On ABC 4 “Rozenstruik Vs Almeida” + Bellator 296 + Weekly MMA News
UFC 288 brought many technical bouts, but the 135-pound division belt didn’t change its owner. After five rounds of a razor-close fight, Aljamain Sterling outworked Henry Cejudo and defended the belt. Judges gave Aljo a split decision nod.
UFC 288 Awards
Last-second replacement Diego Lopes’ gutsy performance helped pushed his bout against dangerous wrestler Movsar Evloev to a “Fight of the Night” at UFC 288. Both fighters took part in amazing scrambles and toe-to-toe exchanges for three rounds, which impressed the UFC head honcho Dana White.
Two more fighters banked an extra 50k for Performance of the Night awards. Two underdogs pulled out massive upsets with KO victories.
Yan Xiaonan surprisingly destroyed Jessica Andrade with a flurry of punches, while Matt Frevola steamrolled dangerous Drew Dober with the nasty ground and pound shots. Dober protested the stoppage, but he was not firing back, so the ref had to stop the fight.
The biggest moment of Yan Xiaonan’s career couldn’t have gone better! #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/KvYjNEB6m4
— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023
Steam ROLLED him 👊
Huge win for @SteamRollaa at #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/Bgv17fx14R
— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023
UFC On ABC 4 Announcement
After a lovely PPV weekend in New York, the fastest-growing MMA promotion in the world travels to Spectrum Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event is headlined by the very promising clash between the Surinamese kickboxing star Jairzinho Rozenstruik and dangerous Brazilian submission expert Jailton Almeida.
Image source: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Jailton Almeida kicked off his UFC run at 205, where he smoked out Danilo Marques. After a transition to heavyweight, he scored three consecutive wins in a row. Almeida is known for superb grappling, great takedown offense, and violent right straight. If this Brazilian takes your back, it’s all over.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik is known for massive knockout punches. His takedown defense is fair, but you don’t wanna get in the way of his powerful fist. “Bigi Boy” destroyed Chris Daukaus, Augusto Sakai, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and many other high-level 265-pound stars.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance or Almeida to win
The co-main event brings a very entertaining match between BJJ black belt Anthony Smith and Brazilian knockout artist Johnny Walker. Smith is a very tough fighter, he survived five rounds against legendary Jon Jones. On the other hand, Walker’s chin is suspect, but his punches are making an enormous amount of damage. One way or another, this will hardly last for 15 minutes.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
UFC On ABC 4 Full Fight Card
There are many promising fights on the upcoming UFC card. This card lacks star power, but it is stacked with young guns and hungry lions.
Main Card (ABC/ESPN+, UFC on Fight Pass, 3 PM ET, 8 PM UK time)
Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-4-0) vs. Jailton Almeida (18-2-0)
Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith (36-17-0) vs. Johnny Walker (20-7-0)
Welterweight: Daniel Rodriguez (17-3-0) vs. Ian Machado Garry (11-0-0)
Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern (12-3-0) vs. Angela Hill (15-12-0)
Welterweight: Tim Means (32-14-1) vs. Alex Morono (22-8-0)
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+, UFC on Fight Pass, 11:30 AM ET, 4:30 PM UK time)
Welterweight: Matt Brown (23-19-0) vs. Court McGee (21-11-0)
Heavyweight: Karl Williams (8-1-0) vs. Chase Sherman (16-11-0)
Bantamweight: Cody Stamann (21-5-1) vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade 28-5-0
Light Heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg 7-1-0 vs. Ihor Potieria 19-3-0
Lightweight: Natan Levy (8-1-0) vs. Pete Rodriguez (5-1-0)
Flyweight: Ji Yeon Kim (9-6-2) vs. Mandy Böhm (7-2-0)
Welterweight: Gabe Green (11-4-0) vs. Bryan Battle (8-2-0)
Bantamweight: Jessica-Rose Clark (11-8-0) vs. Tainara Lisboa (5-2-0)
UFC On ABC 4 Predictions
Please take a look at my full UFC fight night predictions in the playlist below.
Bellator 296 Analysis
Here’s great news for the diehard fans of MMA – Bellator 296 takes place too. It will air on Friday on Showtime, while the main card is free to watch on Showtime. The fight card takes place in Accor Arena, Paris, France.
Image source: @BellatorMMA Twitter
In the main event of the evening, the legendary former Bellator champion Gegard Mousasi will square off against Team Renegade prospect Fabian Edwards. Edwards is a very tough fighter, hard to finish, but the experience could play a role in this match.
Prediction: Gegard Mousasi to win
Striking specialist Mansour Barnaoui squares off against submission expert Brent Primus in the co-main event of the evening. Barnaoui might have a hard time on the ground, but he’ll have chances to win as long as he keeps the bout standing.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
Please take a look at my Bellator 295 main card predictions below.
What a weekend for the European fans of mixed martial arts. Finally, you don’t have to stay up late, both Bellator and UFC events are going to end until midnight! Don’t miss this amazing weekend fellas, Ares FC airs on Thursday too!
