UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux will air on August 8, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee.
#4 GLOVER TEIXEIRA (22-4-0) vs #6 OVINCE SAINT PREUX (18-6-0)
This is a five round main event in the light heavyweight division. In this fight are two fighters that are close to the top of the leader board and looking to make a statement on why they should be next in line for a title shot. Teixeira brings jiu-jitsu and powerful striking making him effective on his feet as well as the ground and has shown why he is near the top of the leader board. Saint Preux brings jiu-jitsu and wrestling to this fight that has helped him become a successful grappler and even giving him great conditioning that has shown greatly since he first began competing in the UFC. Both fighters bring ground game into this fight, but Teixeira has far greater striking than Saint Preux making him very deadly on his feet that could place Saint Preux in great danger as he never faced a deadly striker like Teixeira before. However, if Saint Preux were to gas Teixeira down he could possibly hit him with a few great strikes of his own or even bring him to the ground and place him in a submission hold. Though he will have to avoid each deadly strike that Teixeira will be throwing at him, which will be a major factor in the fight. My prediction: Saint Preux wins via submission in Round 3.
#5 MICHAEL “THE MENACE” JOHNSON (17-8-0) vs #12 BENEIL DARIUSH (11-1-0)
This is a three round fight in the lightweight division. In this fight are two fighters that find themselves on different ends of the leader board with the possibility of moving up or down in rankings. Johnson brings wrestling, striking and great takedown defense that has helped his career go from being ordinary to great. Dariush brings jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai which have not only helped him become successful in his career, but have also made him a skilled grappler making him dangerous to go in a ground fight with. With what each fighter brings it seems that the fight is very even though the striking of Johnson and grappling of Dariush will be the key factors to see who really has the better skills in what they bring. Johnson’s striking has proven to be of great use and if he were to keep the fight on their feet and avoid every takedown attempt by Dariush he will be able to find the weak spot in him and possible beat him to the point of defenselessness. Though Dariush has great speed and defense against all kinds of attacks and if he were to let Johnson wear himself down or let him lose his guard he could bring the fight to the ground and possibly use his jiu-jitsu to out duel Johnson’s wrestling and find the submission hold he needs to win and make a great move up the leader board. My prediction: Johnson wins via knockout in Round 2.
#4 SARA MCMANN (8-2-0) vs #7 AMANDA “THE LIONESS” NUNES (10-4-0)
This a three round fight in the women’s bantamweight division. This fight contains two female athletes that believe they are the one that will dethrone the most dominate athlete in the world, the current Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey. McMann brings wrestling and magnificent takedown defense that quickly made her a top competitor with plans to rematch Rousey and avenge her first professional loss in MMA. Nunes brings jiu-jitsu and judo that have made her not only dangerous as a fighter, but also lead her to finish all her victories without ever going to decision. This fight seems like it is uneven, but in women’s MMA anything can go down. McMann’s wrestling is by far some of the best wrestling fans have seen in the women’s division and with it she could really use it to pressure Nunes and place her in uncomfortable submissions or even wear her down to the point that she losses all her cardio. Though Nunes possess great strength that has been shown many times in her career and if McMann were to get into a brawl with Nunes, she would have to keep her defense up even greater with each strike that Nunes would throw at her. My prediction: McMann wins via submission in Round 1.
