We witnessed greatness last week – Aljamain Sterling defended his title against former champion Henry Cejudo. Gilbert Burns lasted five rounds with a sprained neck, a torn deltoid, and a torn AC joint. But that was last week. Now, we have a new event, and here is the UFC on ABC 4 fight card.
UFC Fight Card This Weekend: Former Title Contenders Meet Future Stars
We will have to wait more than a month for the next PPV event – UFC 289. Until then, we will have to satisfy ourselves with the smaller editions of the promotion, and this week we have UFC Charlotte: Rozenstruik vs Almeida.
If you are new to the UFC, the smaller Fight Nights do not include title fights. But this does not mean that the card is not worth watching. On the contrary, these events typically host the biggest prospects in the game, and the main events often decide the next title contender in a given division.
Here is what we have on the UFC on ABC 4 Fight Card:
• Heavyweight (265 pounds): Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-4-0) vs Jailton Almeida (18-2-0)
• Light Heavyweight (205 pounds): Anthony Smith (36-17-0) vs Johnny Walker (20-7-0)
• Welterweight (170 pounds): Daniel Rodriguez (17-3-0) vs Ian Machado Garry (11-0-0)
• Light Heavyweight (205 pounds): Carlos Ulberg (8-1-0) vs Ihor Potieria (20-3-0)
• Welterweight (170 pounds): Tim Means (32-14-1) vs Alex Morono (22-8-0)
After some smaller Fight Nights, I believe we have a potential banger on our hands. We have an abundance of attractive veterans that are borderline legends of the promotion already.
Which fighters should you keep an eye on in the UFC Charlotte Main Card?
Anthony Smith returns to the octagon against one of the wildest prospects – Johnny Walker. For those that are unfamiliar with these names, Smith reached a title fight in the light-heavyweight division, which he lost to Jon Jones a few years back.
Daniel Rodriguez is a certified fan favorite after his recent fight and he has been tasked with defeating a debutant in the UFC – Ian Garry, who has never lost a bout in his career.
Ihor Potieria will face another massive prospect in his third appearance in the UFC. The Ukrainian has 20 wins and 3 defeats and we definitely suggest watching him fight.
Tim Means is another former KOTC champion (next to Anthony Smith) and he unfortunately never made it big in the UFC. But he has 48 fights behind him and he is definitely an attractive athlete. He will face Alex Morono, who has four wins in his last five fights.
UFC on ABC 4: Rozenstruik vs Almeida Main Event Preview & Analysis
Here is a quick look at the two athletes that will clash in the main event this Saturday.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a kickboxer. First of all, the fighter is distinguished by impressive physical strength and knockout power. Rozenstruik has good takedown defense, blocking 75% of the attempts to take him to the ground.
But because of his enormous physical power and muscle mass, Rozenstruik's mobility suffers. He stagnates a lot and does not try to get away from combinations, which leads to absorbing an average of 4 shots per minute.
On the other side, Jailton is a versatile fighter with an excellent BJJ background. In this discipline, Almeida has a black belt and regularly competes in grappling and jiu-jitsu competitions, where he wins prizes. On the canvas, Almeida tries to take a dominant position, from where he begins to break the opponent with ground and pound.
In the standing position, the Brazilian demonstrates good Muay Thai skills, shoots biting kicks at every chance, and throws accurate and fast hand combinations.
If we were to make a prediction, we would suggest betting on a quick fight here. You can decide for yourself who wins it but we doubt that it will go past the third round.
UFC on ABC 4 Fight Card: Prelims – Who's on?
Here is the full list of Prelim fights on UFC Charlotte:
• Welterweight (170 pounds): Matt Brown (25-19-0) vs Court McGee (22-11-0)
• Heavyweight (265 pounds): Karl Williams (8-1-0) vs Chase Sherman (16-11-0)
• Catchweight (150 pounds): Cody Stamann (21-5-1) vs Douglas Silva de Andrade (28-5-0)
• Women's Flyweight (125 pounds): Ji Yeon Kim (9-6-2) vs Mandy Bohm (7-2-0)
• Welterweight (155 pounds): Bryan Battle (9-2-0) vs Gabe Green (11-4-0)
• Women's Bantamweight (135 pounds): Jessica-Rose Clark (11-8-0) vs Tainara Lisboa (5-2-0)
Which fights are worth watching here? To be honest, you can never know with MMA as any fight can be boring or explosive. In the featured fight, we have two veterans that are at the end of their careers and this fight could easily be the last for both. We expect it to be a big one because of that.
Earlier in the night, we have fan favorites Chase Sherman and Cody Stamann in their own respective bouts and they always bring the heat.
The fight between Ji Yeon Kim and Mandy Bohm is one to look out for as both prospects are coming from defeats and the motivation will be sky-high. We will also see a debutant in the face of Tainara Lisboa, who will participate in the opening fight of the UFC fight card this weekend.
