UFC Fight Night 141 - Beijing Breakdown & Predictions
When is UFC Fight Night 141? Saturday 24th November, 2018 - 23:30 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 141? Cadillac Arena, Beijing, China
What channel is UFC Fight Night 141 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 141? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
Curtis Blaydes vs Francis Ngannou 2
These two monsters and top heavyweight contenders duke it out for a second time after Francis Ngannou eventually begun to puncture the resistance from Curtis Blaydes until the doctor had to step in. It was a close fight but the power of Ngannou made all the difference.
This was back in April 2016 and Blaydes has continued to improve since then, winning every fight convincingly and rising to #3 in the heavyweight rankings. His most recent fight with Alistair Overeem was his most impressive, taking him down with ease and finishing the legend with thunderous ground-and-pound.
Ngannou has also raised many eyebrows – for varying reasons. The Predator lived up to his nickname and finished four victims, catching everyone’s attention including the then champion Stipe Miocic who he met at the start of the year.
Ngannou was the heavyweight every fan had been waiting for but Miocic humbled him, exploiting his grappling weaknesses. This seemed to damage the Cameroonian mentally more than physically as his next fight with Derrick Lewis was surprisingly a snooze-fest where he seemed too hesitant to throw any kind of offence.
PREDICTION
Ngannou is going to have to prepare for this fight mentally. If he has lost confidence in throwing his murderous punches and kicks, Blaydes is probably the worst opponent to face. He is in the form of his life and had earned all his success on the back of a phenomenally strong wrestling and grappling game which we know is Ngannou’s weakness.
The Predator has to look back at their fist fight and other fights for that matter and ensure he is the first to engage. He needs to land on Blaydes early to diffuse his grappling. Any more hesitancy and Blaydes will chew him up and spit him out down the rankings.
Winner: Blaydes via Decision
Alistair Overeem vs Sergey Pavlovich
The well-travelled legend Alistair Overeem makes his first appearance in China as he welcomes the heavyweight prospect form Russia Sergey Pavlovich for his UFC debut. Overeem continues to churn out fights and continues to pose a threat to anyone who stands in front of him.
However, his vulnerability to the knockout also continues as he has suffered two hellacious finishes in his last two fights against Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes, who will both walk out for the main event. With 13 knockout losses suffered in his MMA career alone, this vulnerability is worrying and now he has to take on a ruthless, unbeaten knockout artist hunting a big name on his record.
PREDICTION
Pavlovich is a young beast with the frame to match his counterpart and possesses the same knockout power. Considering the miles on Overeem’s chin, he will be confident of finding his tenth knockout but he does not quite have the technique of the decorated striker.
On paper, Overeem has everything to hand the Russian his first career loss but it will all come down to his defence. He will approach this in his new-found patience and wait for openings which is crucial as he cannot afford to eat any shots. Whether he can avoid these shots for 15 minutes is a different story.
Winner: Pavlovich via KO/TKO
Li Jingliang vs David Zawada
One of China’s favourite fighters in Li Jingliang returns to the octagon and was set for a highly-anticipated fight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. However, the Brazilian suffered an injury to his knee forcing him out of the fight. So, as he did for his UFC debut, David Zawada steps up again on late notice to fill in.
His debut did not go his way against Danny Roberts but he put on a very impressive performance, just missing out on a decision. Now, he has another extremely tough test in the shape of Jingliang.
PREDICTION
Zawada showed a lot of heart in his fight with Roberts and he will need it in this one. Jingliang will look exert relentless pressure, closing the distance with hard strikes to wear the German down. He is very strong and lands frequently but he also takes damage so Zawada needs to counter with every opportunity.
Zawada may look to take the fight to the ground If Jingliang gets the better of him on the feet but although he has the resilience to go toe-to-toe with Jingliang in every area, the Chinese fighter may have too much power for him on the night.
Winner: Jingliang via Decision
Song Yadong vs Vince Morales
Song Yadong makes his third UFC appearance and will be fighting on home turf once again. The youngster was originally scheduled to fight fellow bantamweight Frankie Saenz but unfortunately he had to pull out with injury. This has given Vince Morales the opportunity for his UFC debut.
After winning his second fight for Bellator, the UFC have snapped him up but he has a tough challenge, flying all the way over to Beijing to take on Song who hasn’t lost in five fights.
PREDICTION
This should be a very exciting, fast-paced fight. They are both electric on the feet, especially Morales who has great hands, causing damage from distance. Song is also powerful and although he will be the favourite, he has to be careful as Morales is a finisher who will try and force a brawl.
Song will have to call upon all his skills to grind out a win, in particular his grappling. Considering Morales’ strengths and as his only two losses have come via submission, he may look to keep the fight on the floor.
Winner: Song via Decision
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.