Windy City will be host to some of the most exciting fighters in the UFC today, as UFC 238 will take place at the home of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks — the United Center — this coming Saturday. The main event will be a an intriguing matchup between Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes, while the other cards on the event are all just as interesting. Read on for more about the main event and the rest of the main card bouts below.
Cejudo is out to prove that his win over TJ Dillashaw last January, which was the first title defense of The Messenger was not a “fluke”, as described by Moraes, who’ll be looking to snatch the title away from the champion in UFC 238. Cejudo is on a four-fight winning streak, a stretch that includes a win over Demetrious Johnson, from whom he took the flyweight title away. Cejudo knows he can repeat such performance against Dillashaw, after all, he has six knockout wins out of 16 career fights. As for Moraes, he is the current No. 1 challenger in the division. He knows he can send people asleep, too, as he has won all his last three fights via first-round knockouts. Plus, he also has six submissions wins.
Writer’s prediction:
Moraes wins via knockout.
Valentina Shevchenko (-1000) vs. Jessica Eye (+600)
Women’s Flyweight
Shevchenko can definitely hurt people inside the octagon. In her most recent fight, all she did was pummel former women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk to become a two-time UFC champion. Shevchenko landed 47 percent of significant strikes in that fight to just 31 percent by Jedrzejczyk. She also bullied Jedrzejczyk on the ground, scoring 10 takedowns against zero by her opponent. Jedrzejczyk is an all-around fighter, who is as excellent fighting stand-up as she is on the ground. She has four knockout wins and seven through submissions. Eye, on the other hand, is coming off a split decision win over Katlyn Chookagian last December. She’s won her last three fights all by decisions, which speak volumes about how fantastic her cardio is. In fact, she’s gone the distance in all of her past five fights.
Ferguson is an animal inside the octagon, and he’s about to show Cerrone what he’s all about. Ferguson has won all of his past 11 fights, dating back to when LeBron James was still playing for the Miami Heat. In his last fight, he edged out Anthony Pettis via a second-round knockout that also earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. A durable and relentless fighter, Ferguson owns a 24-3 record with 10 knockout wins and nine submission victories. He’s never been knocked out and was only submitted once, showing just how tough of a cookie he is. Cerrone, however, is no pushover. He’s gone unbeaten over his last four scheduled bouts, and is still fresh off a unanimous decision win over Al Iaquinta back in May. Cerrone is never one to back down, and it shows in his prolific fight history. He is 36-11-0 in his MMA career with 10 knockout wins and 17 submission victories.
Rivera is in need of a pick-me-up performance following a unanimous loss to Aljamain Sterling last February. Rivera has lost two of his last three fights, with the other being a vicious knockout defeat at the hands of Moraes back in June of last year. Rivera will enjoy a slight 1.5-inch reach advantage against Yan, who seems to be the better all-around fighter between the two. Yan has won all of his four UFC fights thus far. He is landing over 50 percent of his significant strikes and is also taking down opponents by an average of 1.73.
Don’t forget about the big boys. Both Tuivasa and Ivanov are looking to climb up the heavyweight rankings, and one of them could achieve that goal with a win at UFC 238. Tuivasa is the bigger fighter, as he stands three inches taller and weights 10 more pounds than Ivanov. He also has a two-inch reach advantage. Tuivasa wants to rebound from a knockout loss to former champion Junior Dos Santos back in December, and he’ll be running into Ivanov, who is riding some momentum after earning a UD win over Ben Rothwell last March.
