The MMA Daily

A Flyweight fight between newcomer Jake “White Kong” Hadley and Allan “Puro Osso” Nascimento kick off the main card. Making his UFC debut, the undefeated Hadley will look continue his dominance under the brightest lights. Having fought for Bellator, Cage Warriors and on Dana White’s Contender Series, Hadley looks to be more experienced than his eight professional fights make it seem. Meanwhile, Nascimento comes into this fight off an unsuccessful UFC debut. A fight in which was close, but saw Tagir Ulanbekov edge out the Brazilian via split decision. Looking to rebound, Nascimento will hope the second’s time the charm for his first UFC victory.

As for a prediction, I have Hadley winning. Flying under the radar, this fight could easily be a frontrunner for Fight of the Night. Hadley comes into this debut, UFC ready. He’s fought in several big organizations and has defeated opponents with a combined 40-9 record in the last five fights. A serviceable striker, Hadley’s area of expertise is his wrestling and BJJ. Smooth on the ground, with beautiful transitions, Hadley can be a headache to deal with on the mat. Especially if an opponent isn’t careful about defending his back. The result of which has seen Hadley win four times via rear-naked choke. No slouch on the mat though either is Nascimento, who has won thirteen of his eighteen victories via submission. However, as we saw in Nascimento’s debut, he has porous takedown defense and he can be controlled on the ground. Given Hadley’s skillset, he shouldn’t have many difficulties following the blueprint Ulanbekov laid out. The only concern is avoiding being submitted. Which to this point, hasn’t been something Hadley has as a professional and amateur. So with all that said, I predict that Hadley will successfully win his UFC debut via decision.