A featherweight scrap between Jeremy Stephens and Dennis Bermudez heads up the UFC 189 undercard portion of Saturday’s event, staged in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Stephens fights out of Alliance MMA and made his name at lightweight before going 3-2 at 145lbs, most recently dropping decisions against talented Cub Swanson (July 2014) and Charles Oliveira (December 2014).
His opponent, Bermudez, was on a tear of seven consecutive coups before he was submitted in one round against Ricardo Lamas last November. The New Yorker, famed for his punch-off verdicts over Max Holloway and Matt Grice (both 2013), boasts dangerous leg kicks and has never been stopped by strikes.
So with both men coming off a loss it’s all to play for here. Jeremy can box and jab his way to the nod, potentially sealing it with takedowns at the right time. He has the greater skills, variety and speed, but Dennis “The Menace” can come alive when hurt.
Expect Stephens to inch through after skating on thin ice for periods.
Welterweight Gunnar Nelson is also looking to rebuild after a setback, having surrendered his undefeated ledger over five in October against Rick Story. The SBG Ireland man, who fights Brandon Thatch on the UFC 189 undercard, boasts excellent jiu-jitsu thanks to his time under trainer John Kavanagh.
Colorado’s Thatch exploded into the UFC two years ago by stopping Justin Edwards and Paulo Thiago – both inside a stanza – before going down to Benson Henderson over five in February. With a four inch height advantage at 6 foot 1, he will be dangerous but enters as the underdog.
Also on the UFC 189 undercard, Englishman Brad Pickett moves back to bantamweight against Thomas Almeida after skidding to 1-2 against craftier strikers at flyweight.
Still only 23, Almeida boasts thirteen knockouts on his eighteen-fight undefeated ledger, while the Chute Box man will be eager to topple Pickett towards his fourth defeat in five.
The preliminary card features a few tasty welterweight meetings, not least between Matt Brown and and Tim Means.
A former personal trainer, Brown is one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC, also sharing a knockout ratio of over 60% with Means.
Columbus’s Brown can bounce back from defeats to Robbie Lawler (2014) and Johny Hendricks (2015) with a sustained beating inside the distance.
In the same division a grudge match takes place between two returning men, Mike Swick and Alex Garcia.
Swick, with a background in striking, emerged on season one of The Ultimate Fighter before entering a hiatus in 2012 to launch his gym in Thailand. On the other hand Garcia’s last appearance was a defeat to Neil Magny eleven months ago. Expect Swick to carve out a decision.
Another 170lbs battle pits Cathal Pendred against John Howard. Also fighting out of SBG Ireland Pendred, 4-0 in the UFC, can box rings around plenty of high-end welterweights so there’s no reason he won’t do the same against “Doomsday.” Both men can be tentative however, so prepare for a slow burner.
Facing off against bantamweight Henry Briones, one man not interested in decisions is Cody Garbrandt, who holds a 100% knockout rate at 6-0. The Team Alpha Male ace picks his strikes well, and you can expect him to continue his apprentice here with another stoppage.
The action begins on UFC Fight Pass with a flyweight collision between Neil Seery and Louis Smolka, and a lightweight match-up between Yosdenis Cedeno and Cody Pfister.
By Ally Hendrie
