UFC Fight Night 172 - APEX 3 Breakdown & Predictions
When is UFC Fight Night 172? Sunday 14th June, 2020 – 00:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 172? The APEX Facility, Las Vegas, Nevada
What channel is UFC Fight Night 172 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 172? 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!
Jessica Eye vs Cynthia Calvillo
Jessica Eye welcomes Cynthia Calvillo to the flyweight division as they are gifted a main event spot for the third event at the UFC APEX facility.
After getting obliterated by Valentina Shevchenko in her title fight a year ago, Eye got back in the win column with a great win over Viviane Araujo, snapping the Brazilian’s five-fight winning streak in the process.
Calvillo missed weight badly in her last fight when she took on Marina Rodriguez. She fought to a draw but after missing the 115 lb strawweight mark for a second time, she is trying her hand up at 125 lbs. This could turn out to a great move as she could be a star. She only has one loss on her record which was to Carla Esparza but that was a very close decision.
PREDICTION
It is going to be fascinating to see Calvillo at flyweight. Eye will be the bigger fighter but Calvillo was clearly very depleted at strawweight and she will come in more energised and explosive.
Eye will edge the stand-up with her boxing but Calvillo will have the advantage on the ground as an excellent grappler, but they are both very well-rounded. If Eye can use her weight advantage to defend the takedowns and keep the distance, Calvillo will be in trouble.
However, this move to flyweight could uncover the contender the division desperately needs and if Calvillo puts everything together, she could bag her biggest win.
Winner: Calvillo via Decision
Karl Roberson vs Marvin Vettori
After various fight cancellations and postponements, Karl Roberson and Marvin Vettori finally meet at UFC Fight Night 172 in what has to be the most fascinating fight on the card.
Roberson is ready after dropping out of his fight with Vettori at the last minute at UFC Fight Night 171 due to a botched weight cut. Roberson was also scheduled to fight Makhmud Muradov at UFC 249, but he could not fly out due to travel restrictions. He now meets an angry Vettori and comes into this fight with two wins - a decision over over Wellington Turman and a submission over Roman Kopylov.
Vettori was also scheduled to fight Darren Stewart in London before UFC Fight Night 171 and he has been raging with all the disruption. He went off on Roberson in the hotel lobby after the American dropped out last minute and the Italian's frustrations are understandable but he needs a cool head to build on his own two-fight winning streak (decisions over Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez).
PREDICTION
These two tough and powerful middleweights are expected to put on an attritional and exciting battle. Roberson is a beast with many tools in the locker as a top grappler and almost put Glover Teixeira away with his hands which very few of the elite have managed to do.
However, Vettori is also a beast and we have not seen the best of him yet. He should be able to take everything Roberson can throw at him. He can also grapple and is an excellent technical striker with a great chin. This will be competitive, but it could be the start of a long streak for Vettori.
Winner: Vettori via Decision
Merab Dvalishvili vs Ray Borg
Ray Borg is back fresh off his loss to Ricky Simon last month and takes on another beast bantamweight in the form of Merab Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili is coming off three dominant decision wins over Terrion ware, Brad Katona and Casey Kenney which was in response to two losses, but these were very dubious outcomes - a strong performance that somehow ended in a submission win for Simon and a close split decision on his UFC debut to Frankie Saenz.
Borg fought to a split decision against Simon, but it was a one-sided scrap with Simon’s wrestling and power proving too much for him. This broke an impressive two-fight win streak including unanimous decisions over Gabriel Silva and Rogerio Bontorin.
PREDICTION
Borg has made a living off his excellent wrestling. However, Simon was just a level above and unfortunately Dvalishvili is arguably an even stronger grappler, making this a terrible match-up for Borg.
The Serra-Longo product lives up to his nickname and is a machine and is expected to man-handle Borg despite his superb wrestling credentials. Borg has the experience fighting in these peculiar conditions with no crowd, but the Georgian is expected to bring the best version of himself at UFC Fight Night 172 and open a lot of eyes.
Winner: Dvalishvili via Decision
Andre Fili vs Charles Jourdain
A very exciting clashed wedged in the main card takes place as Andre Fili takes on Charles Jourdain.
Fili is only 29 but steps out for his 15th UFC fight. After a brilliant outing and unanimous decision win over Myles Jury, Fili put on his best performance to date, knocking out Sheymon Moraes in the first round. However, he met Sodiq Yusuff back in January and although he took the rising star to the final bell, he lost a unanimous decision.
Jourdain lost his UFC debut back in May last year, losing a decision to Desmond Green who was able to take him down four times. However, he pulled off a big upset in his last fight taking on Doo Ho Choi. Jourdain displayed his kickboxing prowess and finished the brawler in the second round.
PREDICTION
This is a great match-up on paper. If it stays on the feet, we will be in for a treat and Jourdain will certainly hope Fili obliges in a stand-up battle. The Canadian is a phenomenal striker and a younger Fili may test his ego in slugging it out but he is a veteran now and is likely to call upon his grappling at some point to secure the points at least.
Winner: Fili via Decision
Jordan Espinosa vs Mark De La Rosa
Jordan Espinosa and Mark De La Rosa both step up to bantamweight for this fight and are both desperately hoping to break losing streaks.
Espinosa is coming off submission losses to Matt Schnell and Alex Perez which broke an impressive five-fight winning streak including a unanimous decision win over Eric Shelton on his UFC debut.
De La Rosa is in the unfamiliar territory of losing his last three. He lost unanimous decisions to Alex Perez and Kai Kara-France and then ran into Raulin Paiva who knocked him out in the second round.
PREDICTION
Despite their recent losses, they are very talented fighters and should look better up at bantamweight even if it is only for one fight. This should come down to Espinosa’s takedown defence. He has the advantage in the striking department and although he has seven submission wins in the bank, he will look to avoid tangling with De La Rosa who is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
If Espinosa can keep the fight on the feet, he should have the speed, movement and technique to outpoint De La Rosa, landing more and inflicting enough damage to seal a decision.