The MMA Daily

In a little over a month, the UFC has held events in Texas (United States obviously), Sweden, Brazil, New Zealand and now Singapore. If you were to of traveled to each event, you would been in the air for around 24,570 miles. The craziest part of that, is that I believe John Morgan of MMA Junkie has endured that, covering each event. God Bless!

Anyways, like I previously mentioned, the UFC is touching down in Singapore for it’s fourth event in four weeks. This will also be the second time the UFC has hosted in Singapore, the first time being in 2014. Oddly enough, Tarec Saffiedine and Russell Doane who are on this card, were also on the card back in 2014. Also fun fact, current Featherweight Champion Max Holloway snapped a two fight skid, defeating Will Chope via TKO. This would be the first win in his eventual eleven-fight win streak.

Headlining the card is former UFC Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm, who has fallen on hard times of late, dropping three consecutive fights. After defeating Ronda Rousey back in 2015, Holm didn’t slowly come down from the peak, she fell completely off. However, she will have a chance to get back on that mountain, as she faces former UFC title challenger Bethe Correia. Since losing to Ronda Rousey via a 34 second knockout, it’s been a mixed bag for the Brazilian. She has gone 1-1-1, with her last fight ending in a draw, as Marion Reneau nearly finished her in a 10-8 third round. However, this will be a big opportunity for Correia to prove that she belongs in the upper echelon of the Women’s Bantamweight division.

Anyways, let’s get to the Predictions!

UFC Fight Night 111 Fight Pass Main Card (8 a.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Holly Holm vs. Bethe Correia – I don’t mean to discredit Correia, but this is a sacrificial fight. She has clearly been selected as Holm’s rebound and I don’t see how she doesn’t get feasted on. She’s a pressure striker, who is going to get out-struck and countered into oblivion by Holm. Correia also hasn’t faced someone with the pace Holm puts on and the fact this is five rounds, makes me believe that Holm is going to finish her at some point in the 4th or 5th round via TKO. The only thing Correia has going for her is toughness, but that will only delay the inevitable. Holm via TKO!

265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcin Tybura – This fight is ending in a knockout, but who? It’s probably easier to just say Arlovski goes to sleep, as he’s lost four in a row by knockout, but you know what…I’m going with the upset in Arlovski. I think he comes out a little more patient and less reluctant to get into a slugfest. His chin is all but denigrated, but o well. Arlovski via vintage KO!

170 lbs.: Colby Covington vs. Dong Hyun Kim – This is a fun fight and much closer than the odds might indicate. You got two superior grapplers, who both have evolved their striking abilities tremendously from when they first started. The veteran Kim, has won 7 of his last 8 fights, with 4 of the victories coming inside the distance. The only issue is that inactivity has plagued “Stun Gun” of late, as he’s fought only 3 times since 2015. As for Covington, since losing to Warley Alves, he has won three straight fights. More impressively, he has finished two of them and completely beat down Bryan Barberena in a dominant decision victory. His wrestling abilities are insane and his striking looked incredible in his last outing, which makes me lean towards him. So with that, I have Covington via decision.

170 lbs.: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tarec Saffiedine – This should be a great debut for Rafael Dos Anjos, as he no longer needs to kill himself to make weight, moving up from 155 lbs. to fight at Welterweight. I really believe this is a perfect opponent too, as Saffiedine is primarily a striker, who is very cerebral. He doesn’t throw punches in bunches per say, as he’s selective in his strikes. He also lacks power and over the course of his UFC career, I think he’s been very mediocre. The name value and recognition of being a solid striker is there, but that’s about it. So with that, I think Dos Anjos outworks Saffiedine to earn a decision victory. 

UFC Fight Night 111 Fight Pass Preliminary Card (4 a.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Takanori Gomi vs. Jon Tuck – Realistically, Tuck should not only win this fight, but finish Gomi. Especially considering Gomi has lost three straight fights, all by first round TKO. It seems if you get Gomi down, he’s stuck and turtles up. However, I haven’t been impressed with Tuck. He seems like one of those fighters with potential to be special, but he always fights down to it. So I’m going on a limb and picking Gomi to out-strike Tuck, winning via decision. 

265 lbs.: Cyril Asker vs. Walt Harris – Who is Asker and what has he done to deserve “The Big Ticket” to the UFC knockout highlight real. I mean, Walt Harris is one scary dude who is progressively getting better with his hands. That last knockout was a beauty and this one will be too. Harris via knockout!

145 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Rolando Dy – No clue who Rolando Dy is, but he’s another guy who’s fighting less experience fighters on the regional scene. I mean, fighting Adin Mrouki and jumping to the UFC to fight Alex Caceres sounds like a rude awakening to me. So with that, I got Caceres winning this via submission.

125 lbs.: Ulka Sasaki vs. Justin Scoggins – This is Scoggins fight to lose. He’s a far superior striker and just needs to avoid grappling with Sasaki, who is very dangerous on the mat. On the feet, Sasaki lacks anything more than a jab. His striking defense is poor and I see him getting getting tagged over and over. So with that, I have Scoggins winning this via TKO!

170 lbs.: Frank Camacho vs. Li Jingliang – Remember when Demain Maia abandoned his grappling and thought he was a striker? That’s basically what Jingliang has done, but with way better success. I mean, his last three victories have been knockouts and his last over Bobby Nash was just vicious! He also proved in that fight that he has a chin and the durability to take punishment and keep on coming. As good as Camacho’s 20-4 record looks, he’s been feasting on lower level fights. His last six opponents have a combined record of 38-32-2. So with that, I got Liangling via first round knockout!

135 lbs.: Russell Doane vs. Kwan Ho Kwak – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a UFC fighter that doesn’t have a “name” be able to avoid the pink slips when losing four consecutive fights. However, I remember seeing promise in Doane in his earlier fights, especially his grappling abilities. If the UFC were to put on a fight in Hawaii, this would be a good time for Doane to finally get in the win column. I think he will too, as he takes this via decision.

125 lbs.: Carls John de Tomas vs. Naoki Inoue – Two UFC newcomers that I have no clue about other than they are undefeated. And wait a second, what’s the UFC doing bringing in new talent at 125 lbs? I thought Dana White is shutting down the division? Anyways, I got Inoue on the account that he didn’t miss weight by 6 lbs. like his counterpart. So with that, Inoue via late submission.

135 lbs.: Ji Yeon Kim vs. Lucie Pudilova – I slightly remember seeing Pudilova batter Lina Lansberg and getting robbed of a decision. But, that’s about the extent of my knowledge. As for a prediction, Emmm… Kim via decision.