UFC Fight Night 155 - Sacramento Breakdown & Predictions
When is UFC Fight Night 155? Saturday 13th July, 2019 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 155? Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
What channel is UFC Fight Night 155 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 155? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ which can you sign up to here!
Are tickets still available for UFC Fight Night 155? https://www.ufc.com/tickets
Germaine de Randamie vs Aspen Ladd
Germaine ‘The Iron Lady’ de Randamie is finally back in action after injuries have restricted her to fighting only four times since 2013. The young contender Aspen Ladd welcomes her back who is on an active tear and is yet to taste defeat.
We haven’t had the chance to see De Randamie’s full potential in the octagon due to her inactivity. Her only loss in the UFC is to the two-division champion Amanda Nunes and people also forget she was the first female featherweight champion, but she never defended the belt citing more injuries. Thankfully she is back and although she has only fought four times in over five years, she is coming off decisions over Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington.
Ladd has fought eight times since 2015 off the back of a packed amateur career. She has had three UFC fights which have firmly put her name on the map, improving with each appearance. She finished Lina Landsberg with brutal ground-and-pound on her debut, repeated the feat against Tonya Evinger and outpointed fellow up-and-comer Sijara Eubanks in their rematch.
PREDICTION
On paper, this is a classic striker vs grappler match-up. De Randamie is a former Kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion with little interest in grappling and Ladd has earned her success with her powerful Wrestling and her striking has been ferocious on the ground but on the feet it is a different story.
This will all come down to how easily Ladd can take De Randamie down and keep her there. She can take the fight away from her if she can tie her up and even find a finish if she gets to the ground. However, ‘The Iron Lady’ has great takedown defence and although she is unlikely to defend every takedown the gulf in class on the feet is too big for her not to capitalize on.
De Randamie is expected to piece Ladd up whenever there is space and use her significant reach advantage to keep the distance, serving up enough damage to secure a late finish.
Winner: De Randamie via KO/TKO
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.
Urijah Faber vs Ricky Simon
The California Kid and pioneer of the lighter weight classes Urijah Faber steps out of retirement to prove he is still a powerhouse and capable of beating the new crop, represented here by Ricky Simon who is an absolute beast in his own right.
Faber last fought two years and seven months ago where he went out on a dominant decision win over Brad Pickett to snap a two-fight losing streak. However, Faber has always been a competitor and when he hasn’t been competing in grappling competitions he has been coaching, remaining in great shape, and he fancies himself for another run in the bantamweight division.
However, this is not a great match-up for him. Simon is not a huge name yet but he is a huge talent on an eight-fight winning streak and is getting better and better. He submitted top grappler Merab Dvalishvili on his UFC debut, earned a unanimous decision over Montel Jackson and put on a clinic against Jiu-Jitsu wizard Rani Yahya.
PREDICTION
Faber has been out for a while but he will be prepared for three fast-paced rounds and he will back himself on the feet but will take any opportunity to get Simon to the floor and look for a submission.
However, if Faber overlooks Simon for a second he will be in trouble. He is a great Wrestler and has the grappling skills to avoid the submission but he may do all the damage on the feet where he is electric. He has speed, power and diversity in his strikes that could at least earn a decision.
Winner: Simon via Decision
Josh Emmett vs Mirsad Bektic
Josh Emmett and Mirsad Bektic are hoping to break the top five but have very difficult assignments in front of them in what is destined to be an ultra-competitive scrap.
Emmett has fully recovered from his nasty facial injuries from a hellacious and somewhat controversial knockout courtesy of Jeremy Stephens and got back to enjoying his developed one-punch knockout power in his last fight, helping him put Michael Johnson to bed in the third round of a fight he was getting outclassed in.
There is a lot of hype behind ‘The Bosnian Bomber’ in Europe and he is desperate to live up to it and make a charge at the title. He has responded well to the sole loss of his career and shock comeback knockout against Darren Elkins with two good wins: a knockout finish over Godofredo Pepey and a split decision over Ricardo Lamas.
PREDICTION
Both fighters are extremely well-rounded and this fight will be fiercely competitive wherever it takes place. Bektic has the power and technique to out-grapple Emmett and control him but he can only grind his way to a win if he can avoid the knockout power in Emmett’s hands.
Winner: Bektic via Decision
Marvin Vettori vs Cezar Ferreira
Marvin Vettori became a victim of the enhanced testing which detected a SARM that should not have been in one of his supplements. He has served his six-month sentence and is ready to pick up a much-needed win but so is Cezar Ferreira who is coming off a loss back in November last year.
Vettori’s last win was over two years ago which was an impressive unanimous decision over Vitor Miranda. He then fought to a draw against Omari Akhmedov and then took on the current interim champion Israel Adesanya and pushed him to a split decision in what was the closest fight of the Nigerian’s career.
Ferreira has also been out the game for a while battling injuries. After earning a split decision over Nate Marquardt and submitting Karl Roberson he was out-scrapped by Ian Heinisch who earned a unanimous decision.
PREDICTION
The Italian is a strong grappler and has double the submission wins of Ferreira but will be wise to keep the fight on the feet. He is durable, powerful and has the technique to punish the Brazilian with his striking but needs to be cautious to avoid getting hurt and dragged to the ground where Ferreira will hunt a submission.
Winner: Vettori via Decision
Karl Roberson vs Wellington Turman
Karl Roberson is desperate to bounce back from a loss as he welcomes the promising Wellington Turman to the UFC who is riding a four-fight winning streak.
Turman is only 22 years-old but he has gained a lot of experience fighting for various promotions and is coming off a huge win under the Future Fighting Championships banner where he submitted Marcio Alexandre in the first round only three months ago.
Roberson is also coming off a first-round submission but this was to Glover Teixeira and he took the fight on short notice. This showed just how game he is stepping up to 205 and he nearly finished the veteran with nasty elbows before Teixiera recovered and rallied to pull off an arm-triangle.
PREDICTION
These guys both have a ton of potential and although Roberson was preparing for John Phillips. he has had a full training camp. Turman will be buzzing for his first opportunity in the octagon.
They are both very explosive and a finish for either man is likely. Although Roberson’s two losses have come via submission, they were against elite Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and he has the ability to fend of the submission attempts from Turman. A fully prepared Roberson is a dangerous beast and his power could just lead to the third knockout of his career.
Winner: Roberson via KO/TKO