Behold, the calm before the
UFC Freedom 250 storm.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is, of course, focused on its
historic card next Sunday on the White House lawn, which it has
repeatedly assured us will be the biggest sporting event of all
time. Between that major milestone and last week’s UFC Macau, which
accounted for the industry leader’s first trip to China this year,
falls this weekend’s 12-fight card at the Meta Apex in Las
Vegas.
While
UFC Vegas 118 would seem to be a throwaway almost by default,
it actually isn’t bad at all. The five-fight main card may be the
best of any Apex card this year so far, and while the undercard is
standard Vegas fare, featuring quite a few veterans on miserable
losing streaks and prospects of questionable upside, it’s
substantially better than last week’s prelim slate in Macau.
Here is the preview for the seven-fight undercard of UFC Fight
Night 278, also known as UFC Vegas 118:
Catchweight (130 lbs.)
Matt
Schnell vs. Alessandro
Costa
BETTING ODDS: Costa (-750); Schnell (+500)
The good news for Schnell (17-10, 1 NC; 7-8, 1 NC UFC) is that
despite originally scheduled opponent Imanol
Rodriguez dropping off the card late, he still has a dance
partner and a paycheck coming this weekend. The bad news is that
his new opponent, Costa (15-5; 3-3 UFC) is a sneaky-good prospect
and Schnell now finds himself the biggest underdog on the card by
far.
Schnell established himself as a contender in the resurrected men’s
flyweight division seven years ago, a mix of impressive size for
the division, good athleticism and excellent offensive weapons. He
stood out as a high-volume kickboxer with nice combination punching
and natural power, but came up short against the very best of the
division thanks to a combination of substandard durability and
questionable fight IQ.
Those liabilities have not improved with age, to put it mildly,
thanks in part to injuries that have resulted in three separate
hiatuses of a year or more. At this point, at 36 and with losses by
finish in five of his last seven fights, Schnell has the look of a
physically shot fighter. He does not respond well to being hit, and
his wrestling and scrambling ability have slowed to the point that
he has been finished by some form of front headlock in three of
those fights.
This all spells bad news against Costa. “Nono,” a 30-year-old
Brazilian by way of Mexico, is appointment watching—five of his six
UFC bouts have ended in fantastic finishes—and much better than his
.500 record might imply. Costa is a compact, muscular and explosive
flyweight who has some of the better one-shot power in the
division. Even more importantly, his fighting style gives him a
chance to bring that power to bear on just about all of his
opponents. He tends to wait for his opportunity, then burst into
the pocket with long strings of punches, not sparing the body; his
win over Stewart
Nicoll in April came from probably the nastiest body punch
we’ll see all year in the Octagon.
Costa’s difficulties have come against opponents with greater reach
and enough speed and footwork to keep him outside, or who could use
takedowns and the threat of takedowns to blunt his punching offense
in that way. Schnell, always one of the bigger men in the flyweight
division, theoretically has the reach to do so, but he’s a boxer by
preference himself, never much of a natural out-fighter, and his
wrestling has all but dried up in the past three or four years.
That spells bad news against an aggressive, accurate and hard
hitter like Costa, and the pick is the Brazilian by first-round
KO.
Jump To »
Schnell vs. Costa
McGhee vs. Yannis
Silva vs. Chairez
Cachoeira vs. Chandler
Leavitt vs. Brito
Chaves vs. Duben
Souza vs. Carnelossi
Men’s Bantamweights
Marcus
McGhee vs. John
Yannis
BETTING ODDS: McGhee (-500); Yannis (+375)
In yet another UFC Vegas 118 bout affected by a late lineup change,
McGhee (10-2; 4-1 UFC) takes on Yannis (10-4; 1-1 UFC), who steps
up for the injured Jakub
Wiklacz. McGhee, frankly, has been shockingly good since
joining the UFC three years ago. “The Maniac” initially presented
in the Octagon with the face of a grizzled veteran but the record
of a prospect, as he was already already 32 (and looked 42 in the
wrong lighting) yet had just seven professional bouts under his
belt.
McGhee has exceeded expectations in just about every way, winning
his first four fights in dominant fashion before running into
former (and future) bantamweight champ Petr Yan last
July, where he was competitive in a decision loss. Despite his
weathered look, McGhee is a spry, fluid and athletic bantamweight
who throws a nice variety of kickboxing combinations with accuracy
and power. His list of UFC victims includes Jonathan
Martinez, himself one of the better strikers in the division,
and he was not out of his depth against Yan, arguably the best
striker in the division period.