The UFC will cross the entire span of the Pacific Ocean and give its fans a show this Saturday in Auckland in New Zealand. This will be the third even the UFC has staged in Auckland and the first in two years. Read on for a brief breakdown of each of the fights in the main card of UFC Fight Night 168.
Felder will enter this fight following a win over Edson Barboza via split decision last September to avenge a 2015 loss. Felder is a striker who can unleash a fury when given a chance, In 2017, he fought three times and won all of them via knockout. He has a 17-4-0 record, and 10 of his wins have been via KOs. Hooker is also a knockout artist who has a 10-1 knockout record and a 20-8-0 slate overall. Hooker is from New Zealand so expect the crown at the Spark Arena in Auckland to be behind him. Hooker will also rely on his five-inch reach advantage to negate Felder’s striking.
Crute (10-1-0) was undefeated in his first 10 pro fights but his streak ended last September when he got submitted by Misha Cirkunov right in the very first round. Crute was probably just due for a loss after such a hot streak, and he’ll look to rebound in New Zealand, where the atmosphere should be more familiar for him. Crute has four wins via KO and three via submissions. A versatile fighter, who’ll be a nice matchup for Polish striker Oleksiejczuk (14-3-0). The Team Gornik Leczna fighter also got submitted in his last fight by Ovince Saint Preux back in September, his second loss via submission. Oleksiejczuk standing up with 10 knockout wins under his name.
Writer’s prediction:
Crute wins via KO.
Ben Sosoli (+120) vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima (-150)
Heavyweight
Sosoli (7-2-0) is probably best known for being the opponent of Greg Hardy in a fight that was won by the ex-NFL player but was later taken away by the UFC after learning he used an inhaler during a break in the fight. Before that fight, Sosoli was involved in a bout deemed as a no-contest after his opponent, Dustin Joynson was inadvertently poked in the eye. Still searching for his first UFC win, Sosoli (7-2-0) is a dangerous power striker with six knockout wins in his MMA career. De Lima (16-7-1) could be an even more potent knockout artist. The Brazilian has an 11-1 knockout record but has lost five times via submissions. De Lima is an inch taller than Sosoli and has a 2.5-inch reach advantage.
Writer’s prediction:
Sosoli wins via KO.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (+190) vs. Yan Xiaonan (-250)
Women’s Strawweight
Kowalkiewicz (12-5-0) is hoping to put an end to her losing skid, as she’s dropped all of his last three fights, which includes back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Michelle Waterson and Alexa Grasso in 2019. A striker, Kowalkiewicz has a 1-1 knockout record but also has two wins and a loss via submissions. Unlike her opponent this coming Saturday, Xiaonan (11-1-) is on a roll. She’s won all of her last four fights, all were unanimous decision wins, meaning she’s got good cardio. She can finish fights early, though, as Xiaonan has five knockout wins.
Writer’s prediction:
Xiaonan wins via KO.
Magomed Mustafaev (-155) vs. Brad Riddell (+125)
Lightweight
Ridell is on a roll and he sure wants to show his countrymen what he can do inside the octagon this Saturday. He’s stitched together four wins in succession, two were decision victories while the other two were via knockouts. Ridell (7-1-) likes to stand up and bang, as evidenced by his 5-0 knockout record. Mustafaev (14-2-0) is welcome to that kind of style. He has 10 knockout wins and has never been knocked out. He’s also a grappler, who has fours submission wins against two losses.
Aguilar(17-2-0) will come into this fight off a unanimous decision loss to Dan Ige last year. Prior to that, the man they call “The Angel of Death” had a string of nine consecutive wins, going back to his days in the Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he was a champion and engaged in five title fights. Tukhugov (18-4-0) has not won in two fights since 2015, losing to Renato Moicano via split decision in 2016 and drew with Lerone Murphy last year. Both Aguilar and Tukhugov are knockout artists with a combined 15 KO victories.
