This one’s going to be a dogfight. Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira are the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders in the light heavyweight division, respectively, so fireworks are definitely in store when these two studs meet this Saturday night. Johnson is the better striker than Teixeira and it might not even be close. He’s also the more athletic of the two.
Still, Teixeira can negate Johnson’s style by simply taking the fight down on the ground, where he can use his more well-rounded wrestling and grappling skills. That’s not to say that Teixeira can’t get it done standing up. Remember, Teixeira just obliterated what’s left of Rashad Evans back in April with a first-round knockout.
Prediction: Perry wins via a second-round stoppage.
Mike Perry is some sort of mystery unless you’re a hardcore MMA junkie. Perry hasn’t fought in the UFC before so this’ll be his first outing in the octagon. That said, Hyun Gyu Lim should know better than come in confident against Perry. While Lim has the advantage in UFC experience having fought five times (3-2 record) before for the MMA outfit, Perry is undefeated in six MMA fights—all of which have ended in knockouts.
Prediction: Perry wins via a second-round stoppage.
Let’s not forget about the war ladies who are also going to fight this coming Saturday. A 135-pound division clash between Markos and Casey is expected to be an entertaining (and close) one with both fighters looking to build momentum following their wins in their respective previous fights.
Markos is coming off an impressive unanimous victory over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger while Casey scored a spectacular first-round knockout win against Cristina Stanciu. Markos is the underdog in this fight but she has the power to level Casey on any given moment. Moreover, Markos isn’t new to scoring upsets having defeated favored opponents Tecia Torres and Felice Herrig during The Ultimate Fighter 21 to reach the semifinals.
