MMA DFS Playbook: UFC Fight Night 142

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 142 ADELAIDE, AUSTRAILIA

Tonight, we head back to the land down under for an exciting card. Tonight, we have several debut’s happening along with many veterans on the card. We have the Super Samoan Mark Hunt taking on newcomer Justin Willis in what will be a hard-hitting contest. In the co-main event we have an MMA legend in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua taking on a dangerous opponent in Tyson Pedro. In the main even we have Junior Dos Santos vs undefeated Tai Tuivasa. We open the night off with the early pre lims over on UFC Fight Pass.

FIGHT PASS EARLY PRE LIMS 7:00pm EST

Alex Gorgees 6-0 vs Damir Ismagulov 15-7

Alex has three KO/TKO, two submissions and one win by disqualification. He has four 1^st round wins. This is his UFC debut. Well rounded fighter with fast hands.

Damir has nine KO/TKO, one submission and six decision wins. He is 11-1 in his last twelve fights which include eleven in a row. He has six 1^st round wins. UFC debut

Good start to the night. Both have an even skill set so should match up well. Alex will to push the pace, since this is his debut. He needs to pick his shots off carefully and try and stay away from the power of Damir. Damir will look to overwhelm his opponent. He may look to go into a clinch and throw some strikes and then look for a big right hand. In the end I see Damir riding his winning streak and getting another win.

Mizuto Hirota 18-9-2 vs Christos Giagos 15-7

Mizuto has ten KO/TKO, and eight decision wins. He is 2-2-1 in his last five. He has four 1^st round wins. Has a win over Cole Miller. He has Sumo and a boxing background.

Christos has seven KO/TKO, three submissions, and five decision wins. He is 3-2 in his last five. He has four 1^st round wins. He has a wrestling background.

Great fight. Mizuto will use his boxing and sumo to cut corners to get those strikes in at odd and precise angles. Christos needs to take the fight to the ground and use top pressure and keep Mizuto on the ground. Look for some ground and pound before a submission attempt. In the end I see Mizuto being a technical striker and winning this fight.

PRELIMS FS1 8:00pm EST

Elias Garcia 6-1 vs Kai Kara-France 17-7

Elias has two KO/TKO, three submissions, and one decision win. He is coming off his first loss. He has two 1^st round wins. He is a product of Duke Rofus. Lots of kickboxing and strikes.

Kai has nine KO/TKO, three submissions and five decision wins. He is 5-1 in his last six, which includes five in a row. He has ten 1^st round wins. Muay Thai background. UFC debut.

Great matchup. Elias will need to put that loss behind him and use that to motivate him. His opponent has more experience, so he will need to push the pace. He needs to avoid and clinch work and try being more of a counter puncher. He must watch for leg and head kicks. Kai will look for some clinch work either in the open area or against the cage. He needs to dictate the fight and keep control of the octagon. In the end I see Kai with a win tonight.

Keita Nakamura 33-9-2 vs Salim Touahri 10-2

Keita has six KO/TKO, seventeen submissions, and ten decision wins. He is 2-3 in his last five fights. He has seventeen 1^st round wins. He has wins over Kyle Noke, Jingliang Li, and Alex Morono. He has one Performance of the Night bonus.

Salim has six KO/TKO, two submissions, and two decision wins. He is 5-1 in his last six fights. He has seven 1^st round wins.

This is a matchup of an older veteran vs newcomer. Keita needs to dictate the match and can’t let the younger guy push him around. Look for Keita to take it to the ground and look for a submission. Salim needs to keep the fight standing and push the pace. He needs to back Keita up to the cage and work takedowns and clinch. In the end I see Salim winning tonight.

Wilson Reis 22-9 vs Ben Nguyen 16-7

Wilson has ten submissions, and twelve decision wins. He is 3-3 in his last six. He has seven 1^st round wins. He has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. He has wins over Bryan Caraway, Zach Makovsky, and Scott Jorgensen.

Ben has eight KO/TKO, five submissions, and three decision wins. He is 4-2 in his last six fights. He has eight 1^st round wins. He has a 3^rd degree black belt in Taekwondo, a brown belt in Jiu jitsu, and a green belt in judo. He has one Performance of the Night bonus.

Great fight. Wilson will look to take the fight to the ground. He needs to be the dominate one on the ground though. He needs to do some ground and pound to soften Ben up then go for a submission. Ben will most likely keep the fight standing as much as possible. Look for him to utilize some head kicks. He may look for a clinch against the cage and setup a throw. In the end I see Ben on top.

Yushin Okami 34-11 vs Alexey Kunchenko 19-0

Yushin has twelve KO/TKO six submissions, and seventeen decision wins and one DQ win. He is 5-1 in his last 6 fights. He has seven 1^st round wins. He has wins over Anderson Silva and Nate Marquardt. He holds a black belt in judo.

Alexey has thirteen KO/TKO, one submission, and five decision wins. He has six 1^st round wins. He won his last fight which was his debut against a dangerous Thiago Alves.

Yushin has been around for a very long time so he knows how to pace himself and when to push the pace. Look for him to get into a clinch and work some strikes and then look for a big throw. He will look to avoid the striking of Alexey and try and stay on the ground. Alexey will look to keep the fight standing and not go on the ground. He is going to look for a KO on a legend of the game. In the end I see Alexey with the win tonight.

MAIN CARD FS1 10:00pm EST

Jim Crute 8-0 vs Paul Craig 10-2

Jim has three KO/TKO, two submissions, and three decision wins. He has five 1^st round wins. This is his UFC debut. Has technical striking.

Paul has one KO/TKO, and nine decision wins. He is 3-2 in his last five fights. He has seven 1^st round wins. He has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu. He has two Performance of the Night bonuses.

Decent match. Jim has a very well-rounded game that will help him with his game plan. He needs to settle down and control the fight. He needs to push his game on his opponent and not let his debut affect him. Look for him to mix it up on the ground and standing. Paul will look to take the fight on the ground and work his Jiu jitsu. He needs to be on top while on the ground and avoid and strikes. In the end I see Jim winning his debut.

Suman Mokhtarian 8-0 vs Sodiq Yusuff 7-1

Suman has one KO/TKO, six submissions and one decision win. He has six 1^st round wins. Was a member of TUF 27. This is his official debut.

Sodiq has four KO/TKO, three decisions. He has two 1^st round wins. He has two 1^st round wins. He has a two-fight win streak coming into this fight. He has solid Jiu jitsu and good striking. This is his debut.

Good match. Suman will look for a big takedown and start working ground and pound. He needs to dictate the fight control the octagon. He needs to watch the strikes of Sodiq. Sodiq needs to keep the fight on his feet. His ground game is solid, but Suman is stronger on the ground. In the end Suman comes out with a win.

Jake Matthews 13-3 vs Tony Martin 14-4

Jake has four KO/TKO, seven submissions, and two decision wins. He is 3-2 in his last five fights. He has four 1^st round wins. He has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. He was a member of TUF Nations for team Australia. He has two Performance of the Night bonuses.

Tony has one KO/TKO, eight submissions and fie decision wins. He is 4-1 in his last five. He has five 1^st round wins. Muay Thai background and black belt in Jiu Jitsu. He has good head kicks.

Solid fight for both. I see this fight being a lot of Jiu jitsu. Jake will need to keep away from any Thai clinch that Tony will look for. He needs to be a counter puncher and wait for that moment to get a takedown and get on top. Tony will look to use some kicks to soften up his opponent. He will look for a clinch to work a takedown from there. In the end I see Tony with the win.

Mark Hunt 13-13-1 vs Justin Willis 7-1

Mark has 10 KO/TKO and three decision wins. He is 1-3 in his last four fights.  He has wins over Frank Mir, Derrick Lewis, Roy Nelson and Cheick Kongo. He is a former K-1 Champ. He has four 1^st round wins. He has heavy hands. He has two Knockout of the Night, three Fight of the Night, and two Performance of the night bonuses. He has a Kickboxing and boxing background.

Justin has four KO/TKO, and three decision wins. He is on a six-fight win streak. He has three 1^st round wins.

This fight is going to be a slug fest. This fight will not go to the ground until one knocks out the other. Mark is a seasoned fighter, so he can keep his composure. He is on a losing streak and most likely needs a win. Justin is looking to get the big win over a great fighter. He needs to watch for the big overhand. In the end I see Justin with an upset win.

CO-MAIN

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua 25-11 vs Tyson Pedro 7-2

Shogun has twenty KO/TKO, one submission, and four decision wins. He is 3-2 in is last five. He has seventeen 1^st round wins. He has wins over Rampage Jackson, Allistair Overeem (twice), Chuck Liddell, Mark Coleman, Lyoto Machida, and Corey Anderson. He has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ and former Pride Grand Prix Champ. He has three Knockout of the Night, and four Fight of the Night bonuses.

Tyson has two KO/TKO and five submission wins. He is 3-2 in his last five. He has seven 1^st round wins. He has a win over Khalil Rountree. He has a blackbelt in Japanese Jiu Jitsu, and brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and black belt in Kenpo. His brother in law is Tai Tuivasa.

This fight is the vet vs up and comer. Shogun will need to control the fight and octagon right from the start. He will look for a clinch and work some of his Muay Thai. Look for him to throw some leg and head kicks. Tyson needs to watch for the clinch work. He also needs to get a clean takedown and work some ground stuff. He needs to take his time with Shogun. Shogun is a legend and will be waiting on anything. In the end I see Shogun with another win.

MAIN EVENT

Junior Dos Santos 19-5 vs Tai Tuivasa 8-0

Junior has thirteen KO/TKO, one submission, and three decisions. He is 3-2 in his last five fights. He has eleven 1^st round wins. He has wins over Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Gabe Gonzaga, Roy Nelson, Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, and Stipe Miocic. Former Champ. He is a Jiu Jitsu black belt. He has good boxing. He has three Knockout of the Night, and two Performance of the Night bonuses.

Tai has seven KO/TKO and one decision. He has seven 1^st round wins. His only decision win was his last fight against former champ Andrei Arlovski. He has boxing and a kick boxing background.

Great main event. Again, another vet vs rising star. Junior will need to use his boxing and keep Tai at bay He will look to secure a clinch and throw some strikes then a takedown and work some ground and pound. Tai will look to take down another legend in the sport. He will look for a first round KO. He has only gone the distance once which was three rounds. This is a five-round fight, so we will see how cardio is is if it goes that far. In the end I see Tai with an upset in his home country.