Local promises, former champion and Brazilian shake up UFC Mexico

S. Pettis (left) and B. Moreno (right) take part in the main fight Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc_brasil

Still hungover from UFC 214, the biggest event of the year last week, Ultimate arrives in Mexico this Saturday (5) for its only August edition. The show is full of local promises, the former light heavyweight champion Rashad evans and features a Brazilian – the bantamweight Rani Yaya measures forces with Henry Briones in the preliminary portion.

In the main fight, two future candidates for the flyweight title face each other: North American Sergio Pettis faces Brandon Moreno.

PUBLICITY:

See too

Rashad Evans and Pettis are underdogs in UFC Mexico betting

Only one fighter doesn't make weight for UFC Mexico; see stares

Number six in the ranking at 57 kg, the brother of the former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis could be the next to compete for the belt Demetrious Johnson if he passes seventh-placed Moreno, who was eliminated in the first round of The Ultimate Fighter 24, but surprised with two submissions and a decision victory so far in the UFC.

In the co-main fight of the night, the girls come into action. Alexa grasso, another Mexican promise in action, faces Randa markos and is already at a disadvantage. This is because the local athlete did not meet the weight limit for the straw division and was forced to give 20% of her scholarship to the Canadian.

PUBLICITY:

The promises of the show

B. Moreno is one of the great promises of the flyweights (Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc)

Ultimate's only event in August, the UFC Mexico seems organized to put the main promises of local MMA in the spotlight. The main one may be Brandon Moreno. Champion of a local event, the Mexican entered TUF 24 as an underdog and was soon eliminated by Alexandre pantoja. However, he seems to have taken advantage of the intense training time at home and debuted another fighter in the UFC. He surprised the dangerous Louis Smolka, submitting him in the first round. He also beat Ryan Benoit and Dustin Ortiz. If he manages to win over Pettis, he will start dreaming of a title fight.

PUBLICITY:

North Americans experience a similar situation. After entering the UFC with the expectation of being a “lookalike” of his world champion brother, Sergio Pettis dealt with his first defeats, but he knew how to stay focused and is closer than Moreno to a title shot. Also with three consecutive victories, the North American has already had his name speculated to face Demetrious Johnson. If the Mexican beats the Mexican this Saturday, Pettis can hope that DJ beats Borg and his dream of fighting for the title should be realized.

In addition to the main fight, the UFC Mexico there is also a great local promise in action in the second most important fight of the night. Coming from Invicta FC, an exclusively women's event, at strawweight Alexa grasso made her debut in Ultimate, achieving a dominant victory over Heather Jo Clark. Her performance against the veteran drew attention, but in her second duel, she ended up being defeated by Felice herrig. At 23 years old, the Mexican will have another opportunity to show that youth trumps experience against Randa markos, Canadian with an irregular record (7-4), but who is coming off a triumph over the former champion Carla esparza.

In the preliminary portion of the show, Hector Sandoval is worth keeping an eye on. The North American of Latin origin trains on the bantamweight champion's team cody garbrandt, and will face, in the flyweight division, the dangerous and experienced Dustin Ortiz.

PUBLICITY:

Former champion in action

Rashad faces S. Alvey (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC)

Perhaps the most well-known name on the entire card UFC Mexico be that of Rashad evans. Former light heavyweight champion, the North American will, in front of Sam alvey, his second appearance at middleweight. “Suga” reached the Ultimate belt, at UFC 92, when he knocked out Forrest griffin, remaining undefeated. However, he ended up suffering his first defeat six events later, at UFC 98, against Lyoto Machida. Since then, he has competed again for the light heavyweight title, against his former friend Jon Jones at UFC 145, but realized his size was no longer the same.

After a brutal knockout suffered by Glover Teixeira, Evans finally decided to move down to middleweight. His debut, however, was below critical: defeat in a boring fight against Dan Kelly. Facing Alvey, the American has the opportunity to silence the critics, who are calling for his retirement, and replace himself as a middleweight who could, in the future, achieve a title shot.

UFC Mexico's only Brazilian

R. Yahya comes from defeat (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/Rani Yahya)

R. Yahya comes from defeat (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/Rani Yaya)

Brazilian representative at this Saturday's event, the bantamweight Rani Yaya arrives in Mexico City under pressure after suffering a defeat at home. At UFC Fortaleza in March this year, the Brasilia native ended up being defeated by Joe Soto. The setback interrupted a sequence of four victories, achieved over almost three years. Against Henry Briones, Rani needs to win to stay relevant in the division.

Regarded as one of the main grapplers in the bantamweight division, the Brazilian is a clear favorite against Briones, who is coming off two consecutive defeats. The Mexican recently faced a compatriot of Yahya – Douglas D’Silva dominated him and won the decision. Before that, however, Briones had not fought since July 2015, when he was defeated by the current bantamweight champion, cody garbrandt.

With a good fighting rhythm, superior on the ground and with good weapons on her feet, Rani has everything she needs to dust off her last defeat and get back on the path to victory, taking the opportunity to give her resignation letter to her opponent, who cannot resist the constant cuts. of the UFC in case of another setback.