It should be a wrestling-heavy affair in the featherweight division when Mike Grundy and Makwan Amirkhani step into the Octagon on Saturday.
The 35-year-old Grundy represented England internationally in freestyle wrestling for a number of years, winning a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He’s 12-3 overall in his mixed martial arts career, but comes into this one on a two-fight slide, having dropped back-to-back decisions to Movsar Evloev and Lando Vannata.
Amirkhani literally kicked off his career in spectacular fashion, earning an eight-second stoppage win over Andy Ogle in Sweden, but that was seven years ago, and he’s been inconsistent since. The 33-year-old is 5-5 over his last 10 starts but has dropped three straight and four of his last five heading into this one, often starting quickly, but fading once the action hits the second round.
Cory McKenna vs. Elise Reed
Dana White’s Contender Series grad Cory McKenna finally makes her sophomore appearance in the Octagon, welcoming fellow sophomore Elise Reed to the London this weekend.
McKenna earned her UFC deal with a unanimous decision win over Vanessa Demopoulos in the summer of 2020, then quickly turned around and collected a similar result against Kay Hansen in her promotional debut. She’s been out of action since, but the 22-year-old Welsh grappler has been working extensively with the crew at Team Alpha Male and looks to rekindle the momentum with a return to the United Kingdom on Saturday.
Reed won the CFFC strawweight title with a victory over Jasmine Jasudavicius in her second pro fight, then successfully defended the belt twice before getting called up to the UFC. She made her debut up a division against SIjara Eubanks and was completely out-muscled, but a return to the 115-pound weight class and a more even pairing with McKenna should provide her with a better opportunity to secure her first win.
Both women are at their strongest in the grappling realm, so expect a scramble-heavy affair with lots of battling for position in the clinch and on the canvas once things get underway in this one.
Nathaniel Wood vs. Vince Morales
The crowd at The O2 should be in full throat to start the night as Morden man Nathaniel Wood makes his return to action, stepping in against Vince Morales in Saturday night’s opener.
Another former Cage Warriors champion competing this weekend, Wood rocketed out of the gate with three straight submission wins to start his UFC career before running afoul of John Dodson. He bounced back with a win over John Castaneda, but then dropped a decision to Casey Kenney in his third bout of 2020 and has been out of action since due to various injuries.
The 31-year-old Morales struggled upon arriving in the UFC, losing three of his first four as part of a tough stretch where he went just 2-4 in six fights. Since then, however, “Vandetta,” who now lives in Las Vegas and trains at Syndicate MMA, has earned back-to-back victories, most recently scoring a knockout win against Louis Smolka in December.
This should be an electric encounter to start the evening as Wood looks to make up for lost time and kickstart another push towards the rankings, while Morales aims to ruin his homecoming and add another victory to his resume across the pond.
