ANTHONY PETTIS VS. ALEX MORONO
Anthony Pettis continues to embrace his “I just want to take fun fights” approach to life as he looks for a second consecutive victory to wrap up the year in this matchup against “The Great White,” Alex Morono.
After nearly a decade spent chasing down, capturing, defending, and trying to reclaim championship gold across numerous divisions, “Showtime” has spent the last couple years taking fun assignments at lightweight and welterweight where his focus has been on enjoying himself. Last time out, he finally shared the cage with fellow WEC standout Donald Cerrone and came away with a victory, halting a two-fight skid and showing that he’s still got plenty to offer inside the Octagon.
Morono entered 2020 as an intriguing name to watch in the welterweight ranks, having won three straight. His momentum was halted by Khaos Williams in March, but the Fortis MMA product returned to the win column with a strong effort against Rhys McKee last month and looks to make it two in a row at the Apex with a statement win over Pettis on Saturday.
As much as I love fights that carry divisional significance and championship ramifications, bouts like this are equally delicious because you just know that Pettis and Morono are going to meet in the center and trade from the jump, only stopping at the end of each round or when one of them ends up looking up at the lights.
BELAL MUHAMMAD VS. DHIEGO LIMA
The preliminary card closes with another strong matchup in the welterweight ranks as Belal Muhammad takes on two-time TUF finalist Dhiego Lima in a battle between two men looking to push their respective winning streaks to four.
Muhammad is one of the more under-appreciated fighters on the roster — a talented and tenacious competitor with seven wins in his last eight starts and an 8-3 record inside the Octagon. Since beginning 2019 with a unanimous decision loss to headliner Geoff Neal, the 32-year-old has rattled off victories over Curtis Millender, Takashi Sato, and Lyman Good while building a strong Twitter following, despite his inability to properly draw circles around his weekly fight night selections.
Watch Saturday With Your ESPN+ Subscription
A finalist at middleweight on Season 19 and welterweight on Season 26 of the long-running reality TV competition, Lima has finally found a rhythm inside the Octagon, entering this weekend’s clash with Muhammad having earned three straight wins. With a victory on Saturday, the 31-year-old would bring his record under the UFC banner to 5-5 and position himself for another move forward in the talent-rich welterweight ranks in 2020.
Fights like this is why it’s crucial to pay attention to every matchup, as Muhammad and Lima have been steadily grinding away in one of the most competitive divisions in the sport, stacking victories and methodically working their way towards the Top 15, and the winner is likely to land opposite a member of that elite collection in the first quarter of next year.
SIJARA EUBANKS VS. PANNIE KIANZAD
Bantamweight veterans looking to move closer to cracking the Top 10 clash in this year-end battle as Sijara Eubanks squares off with Pannie Kianzad.
Eubanks is one of those fighters whose record doesn’t quite reflect her level of talent and ability inside the cage. Though she’s just 7-5 overall, the former TUF standout is a legitimate tough out in the lower third of the Top 15 and continuing to get better the more she continues to work with Mark Henry and the rest of the “Iron Army” crew in New Jersey.
The same can be said about Kianzad, who reached the TUF 28 finals and enters Saturday’s contest with Eubanks on a tidy two-fight winning streak. Still just 29, Kianzad was a fixture in the title chase during her Invicta FC days, and now appears to be working her way into comparable position in the UFC after strong efforts against Jessica-Rose Clark and Bethe Correia.
This is one of those bouts where we’re going to know more about where each woman stands in the division once the dust settles, and the process of determining the outcome should be all kinds of fun to watch.
