Sound the klaxon because we’ve got a banger alert in the welterweight division as finishers Miguel Baeza and Khaos Williams clash in what should be an explosive affair on Saturday’s prelims.
Baeza has collected a bonus in each of his last three UFC appearances, but enters off his first professional loss, having dropped a unanimous decision to Santiago Ponzinibbio in a clash that won Fight of the Night honors back in June. Before that, “Caramel Thunder” collected stoppage wins over Hector Aldana, Matt Brown, and Takeshi Sato to position himself as one of the top emerging talents in the 170-pound weight class.
A dynamite-fisted Michigan native, Williams burst on the scene in 2020 with consecutive hellacious knockouts of Alex Morono and Abdul Razak Alhassan that took a combined 57 seconds. He’s surprisingly gone the distance in each of his last two outings, most recently out-hustling Matthew Semelsberger in June, but this pairing with Baeza feels primed to pull the aggressiveness and nastiness out of Williams on Saturday night.
There is a very good chance that this one finishes inside the distance and ends with a highlight reel stoppage, but even if that isn’t the case, this should be an entertaining battle between two names worth tracking in the always-competitive welterweight ranks.
Sean Woodson vs. Collin Anglin
Dana White’s Contender Series alums Sean Woodson and Collin Anglin meet in this featherweight pairing where the former is looking to secure another victory, while the remains in search of his first UFC win.
Woodson is gigantic for the featherweight division, standing six-foot-two and brandishing a 78-inch reach, which gives him the ability to work from range and connect with force at a distance most of his opponents aren’t used to dealing with. He rebounded from the first loss of his professional career with a split decision victory over Youssef Zalal in June and looks to keep things moving in the right direction when he steps in with Anglin here.
A member of the 2020 graduating class on the Contender Series, Anglin dropped his promotional debut to Melsik Baghdasaryan in July, struggling to deal with the striker’s speed and succumbing to his power a shade under two minutes into the second round. Anglin had won seven straight ahead of his debut and the Factory X Muay Thai representative will look to get back to that form when he squares off with Woodson on Saturday.
Will Woodson secure his third win in four starts or can Anglin break into the win column?
Cortney Casey vs. Liana Jojua
The first of three clashes on the women’s side of the roster takes place in the flyweight division, as Cortney Casey and Liana Jojua finally lock up after having their initial pairing in August delayed.
Casey is one of the prime examples of why you shouldn’t judge a fighter solely by their record, as the veteran carries a 9-9 record into this one, having landed on the wrong side of a handful of questionable split decision verdicts along the way. Last time out, most believed she’d done enough to defeat JJ Aldrich, but two of the three judges thought otherwise, meaning the MMA Lab representative heads into this one on a two-fight slide, hell-bent on leaving no doubt she’s the superior fighter.
Cortney Casey Is Focused On Fighting Her Fight
The 26-year-old Jojua is just three fights into her UFC tenure and 1-1 through her first two appearances at flyweight. After securing a first-round submission win over Diana Belbita in her divisional debut, the Georgian prospect had her fight with Miranda Maverick halted after the first round due to a cut on the bridge of her nose that would not stop bleeding. Now training out of Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, it will be interesting to see how much the “She Wolf” has progressed over the last year when she makes the walk this weekend.
Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Alves
Originally slated to face off in September, lightweights Marc Diakiese and Rafael Alves instead share the Octagon this weekend in what promises to be an entertaining matchup in the 155-pound weight class.
It’s been peaks and valleys for Diakiese through his first nine UFC starts, as a three-fight skid followed a three-fight winning streak, before a tidy two-fight run of success was chased by a loss to Rafael Fiziev last time out. The 28-year-old has only lost to quality competition and has been working with the crew at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm in preparation for his return this weekend.
It’s been a rough year for Alves, who earned his UFC contract with a dynamite performance on Dana White’s Contender Series last summer. After missing with for his promotional debut by a considerable amount, “The Turn” moved up to lightweight and dropped a decision to Damir Ismagulov in May.
This has the potential to be an explosive affair early in the evening, as Diakiese is a dynamic athlete who has continued to add to his MMA arsenal, while Alves is a proven finisher in dire need of a strong showing.
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Da-un Jung
Surging light heavyweight prospects get the opening assignment of the weekend, as Kennedy Nzechukwu looks for his third finish of 2021 against Da-un Jung, who looks to maintain his unbeaten record inside the Octagon.
One of the numerous Fortis MMA representatives to graduate to the UFC via the Contender Series, Nzechukwu missed all of 2020 with a knee injury, but has made up for lost time so far this year, registering back-to-back blistering finishes of Carlos Ulberg and Danilo Marques to extend his winning streak to three. The indefatigable “African Savage” is 9-1 overall with his lone setback coming in the waning moments of his promotional debut against Paul Craig, which should tell you what kind of upside the heavy-hitting 29-year-old possesses.
Unbeaten in four UFC starts and 14 appearances overall, Jung returns for the first time since securing a unanimous decision victory over William Knight in April, where he showcased his well-rounded skill set in out-wrestling the powerful striker. The 27-year-old has fought at heavyweight in the past and showed both keen finishing instincts and unquestioned toughness throughout his first two years on the UFC roster, and a victory on Saturday could catapult him into the conversation as one of the top up-and-coming talents in the division.
Both Nzechukwu and Jung are on the cusp of cracking the Top 15 and flashed a wealth of potential to this point in their respective careers. This is an outstanding matchup and a tremendous opener, so be sure to be settled in when the action gets underway on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.
