The largest mixed martial arts promotion in the world makes it’s return to the Lone Star State. The San Antonio crowd will be treated to a stacked card with many interesting fights and matchups. There are several bouts that could determine future contenders, and also includes a potential title contending bout at Welterweight. I will breakdown my thoughts on the main card, and leave my predictions for the rest of the evening as well. As always feel free to share your picks or thoughts below!

Prelims
Bantamweight: Domingo Pilarte (8-1) vs Felipe Corales (8-1)- Pilarte Split Decision

Bantamweight: Mario Bautista (6-1) vs Jin Soo Son (9-3)- Bautista Submission

Bantamweight: Ray Borg (11-4) vs Gabriel Silva (8-0)- Silva Split Decision

Women’s Flyweight: Roxanne Modafferi (23-15) vs Jennifer Maia (16-5-1)- Maia Split Decision

Light Heavyweight: Sam Alvey (33-12) vs Klidson Abreu (14-3)- Abreu Unanimous Decision

Women’s Bantamweight: Raquel Pennington (9-7) vs Irene Aldana (10-4)- Pennington TKO

Featherweight: Alex Caceres (14-12) vs Steven Peterson (17-8)- Caceres Unanimous Decision

Main
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski (27-18) vs Ben Rothwell (36-11)- Rothwell Unanimous Decision
Both of these heavyweights have long been contenders over their careers. Arlovski is a former UFC Heavyweight champion who is known for his aggressive striking and punching power. Rothwell is an unorthodox striker with solid wrestling, and a very underrated submission game. Both men are on losing streaks and are desperate to pick up a victory in order to stay relevant. I am going to lean towards Rothwell because he has more ways to win this fight. At this point in their respective careers, Rothwell has looked better in his recent appearances.

Lightweight: Alexander Hernandez (10-2) vs Francisco Trinaldo (23-6)- Hernandez TKO
Alexander Hernandez is a native of San Antonio, and will have the home crowd support in this fight. Hernandez is an explosive striker with fast hands and legit knockout power. He is looking to bounce back after suffering a TKO loss to Donald Cerrone. Trinaldo is a long time UFC veteran who is known for his kickboxing skills. He is also an underrated wrestler and grappler as well. This is a battle between the prospect in Hernandez, and the grizzled vet in Trinaldo. I am picking Hernandez in this contest, and I believe he will feed off the hometown support. I feel he will use his punching ability to catch, and eventually finish Trinaldo in the later rounds.

Lightweight: James Vick (13-3) vs Dan Hooker (17-8)- Hooker TKO
Vick comes into this fight on a two fight losing streak after winning four straight. Vick is big for the division standing at 6’3, and has a 76′ reach. He has improved as a striker throughout his career, and is very slick on the mat especially with chokes. He is taking on Dan Hooker, a New Zealand native and training partner of current UFC Interim Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. Hooker is a diverse muay thai practitioner with power in his hands, feet, knees, and elbows. Hooker is also above average in terms of grappling as well with seven submission victories on his record. Hooker has struggled with consistency, but has improved his record after moving back up to lightweight. I am choosing Hooker in this fight because he is the superior striker. I believe he will keep the fight standing up, and force Vick into a striking battle which is Hooker’s domain.

Heavyweight: Greg Hardy (4-1) vs Juan Adams (5-1)- Hardy KO
This is going to be a heated battle between two heavyweights that do not like each other. Greg Hardy was a former pro bowl defensive end in the NFL. He was ousted from the league after domestic violence and other off the field issues. Hardy is a controversial figure to many, but has shown promise in the cage. He is obviously a phenomenal athlete with raw knockout power. He is a very aggressive striker who looks to end the fight quickly. Juan Adams is also a massive human being who like Hardy is primarily a striker. He also is athletic and possesses big time power in his hands. Both of these men are young in their MMA careers, and still need time to develop before becoming major factors in the division. This fight in my opinion comes down to who lands the big shot first. Adams has been trash talking Hardy, and has been asking for this fight for months. I am picking Hardy in this fight because I believe Adams might be overly anxious to land a knockout blow. I see Hardy landing a big shot and eventually closing the show with follow up punches. This is truly a fight that could go either way as most heavyweight contests are.

Heavyweight: Aleksei Oleinik (57-12-1) vs Walt Harris (12-7)- Oleinik Submission
Oleinik is a very unorthodox and for lack of a better term strange fighter. He is not technical on the feet, but does have power in his hands. This was shown when he dropped Mark Hunt and Travis Browne. Where he truly shines is with his ground game, and holds an astounding amount of 45 submission victories. Walt Harris on the other hand, is known for being a massive heavyweight with big time knockout power. He is super fast for such a large man, and gives people trouble with his speed and power. His biggest issues have come against strong grapplers who force him to the mat. I am picking Oleinik to win this fight by submisison. I believe Oleinik will find a way to get this fight to the mat where he is comfortable, and eventually finish Harris there. Aleksei is going to have to be careful on the feet because Harris can finish the fight with one shot.

Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos (29-11) vs Leon Edwards (17-3)- dos Anjos Submission
This is a pivotal matchup at Welterweight that could lead to a future title shot. Rafael dos Anjos is the former UFC Lightweight champion who has impressed in his move up to Welterweight. The Brazilian has always been known for his high level muay thai, and ability to break guys with his pressure. dos Anjos is also no joke in the grappling department and holds a black belt rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is coming off an impressive submission victory over Kevin Lee. The majority of Rafael’s losses have come against strong wrestlers who take away his striking game. Leon Edwards is a stand out striker from England. He is on one heck of a run winning his last seven contests in the UFC. Edwards keeps a pace like dos Anjos that tends to break his opponents. Edwards has greatly improved his wrestling and grappling skills as well. His last loss came against current UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Outside of Usman, this will be the toughest test to date for the brash Brit. I expect this fight to take place on the feet for the majority of the fight. If it goes to the ground, I believe that dos Anjos will have the advantage with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background. I feel this will be a closely matched fight, but I am going to lean towards dos Anjos. I just believe he has a little bit more well rounded game, and can finish the fight in more ways than Edwards.

Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_on_ESPN:_dos_Anjos_vs._Edwards