Breakdown of the UFC Fight Night 93 Fight Card
By Eric Kowal, RCM MMA Correspondent & MyMMANews.com Founder
Andrei Arlovski (25-12-0, 1 NC) vs Josh Barnett (34-8)
Hamburg, Germany (August 31st, 2016)– A battle between two former UFC heavyweight champions headlines UFC Fight Night 93 from the Barclaycard Arena, in Hamburg, Germany. The entire event will be streamed live via the UFC’s digital subscription service, UFC Fight Pass.
Casual mixed martial arts fans may not remember that Josh Barnett once held the UFC heavyweight title because unfortunately for Barnett he never had the opportunity to defend the belt he claimed after defeating Randy Couture back at UFC 36. Barnett was stripped of the title after testing positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test. He would then go to Japan to compete in a variety of organizations to include K-1 and the now defunct Pride Fighting Championship. He has fought some of the very best mixed martial artists in the heavyweight division and has also had a highly successful career as a professional wrestler.
Since coming back to the UFC in 2013 Barnett has split his record with two wins and two losses and aims to get back on track towards a UFC heavyweight title shot with a win over Arlovski. Currently, Barnett is ranked as the organization’s number nine heavyweight whereas his opponent sits at the number six seed.
Arlovski, is coming off back-to-back TKO losses to Alistair Overeem, and current champion Stipe Miocic. Overeem will challenge Miocic for the title next weekend in the main event at UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Arlovski desperately needs a win over Barnett as his back is up against the wall should he lose three straight. The former champion was on a surge in 2015 defeating the likes of Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, Travis Browne, and Frank Mir consecutively.
Prediction: Barnett will use his wrestling and submission to prowess to get Arlvoski to the ground where he will use ground and pound to work for a submission. Barnett was the first person to submit Dean Lister in 16 years back at Metamoris 4 in August 2014. In the near 40 professional MMA fights that Arlovski has had he had never been submitted. All of his losses have come via KO/TKO or decision. I predict that Barnett will be the first fight to submit the Belarusian.
Alexander Gustafsson (16-4) vs. Jan Blachowicz (19-5)
The number two ranked UFC light heavyweight, Alexander Gustafsson is no stranger to high profile fights. He has challenged both Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier for the title. However, with that being said Gustafsson cannot afford to lose this fight against the unranked Blachowicz.
Gustafasson has dropped three of his last four fights and although he should be able to plow past Blachowicz, the Swede should not take this fight for granted.
Blachowicz has two wins and two losses to his UFC record, most recently a unanimous decision win over Igor Pokrajac. Both of his losses came in the form of unanimous decisions to Corey Anderson and Jimi Manuwa.
Gustafsson vs. Blachowicz is an intriguing co-main event as the two fighters are built virtually identical. They have relatively the same height and have their reach is split by a one-inch difference in favor of Gustafsson.
Prediction: Gustafsson has been involved in and scheduled for several five-round fights against the best in the world. He has the stamina to go the distance, but I don’t see him finishing Blachowicz inside of the three rounds that this co-main event fight is scheduled for. Gustafsson via unanimous decision.
Ryan Bader (21-5) vs. Illir Latifi (13-4)
Ryan Bader has not fought since January of this year when he was viciously knocked out by top-ranked Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson in the main event of UFC on FOX 18. Before that loss Bader was on a five-fight win streak over top contenders in Rashad Evans, Phil Davis, and Ovince St. Preux. It was argumentative that Bader could earn a potential title shot had he defeated Johnson. Unfortunately things did not work out that way and now the number four ranked Bader needs to get past the number 12 ranked Illir Latifi to work his way back up to title contention.
Latifi will be making his eight UFC appearance however he has not competed against the level of competition that Bader has. His first fight with the organization was a short notice loss to Gegard Mousasi. Since then, Latifi has only lost one other fight, a TKO to Blachowicz rougly two years ago.
Prediction: Bader has far more experience over more experienced fighters. On top of the previously mentioned contests, Bader has been in the cage with guys like Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Glover Teixeira, Lyoto Machida, Lil’ Nog. Latifi has never seen competition like that. If Bader cannot knock Latifi out with a big right hand, I see him working a decision after taking him down several times throughout the contest.
Nick Hein (13-2) vs. Tae Hyun Bang (18-9)
One thing you can expect is for Nick Hein to get one of the loudest pops from the crowd as he makes his way to the octagon this Saturday night. Hein, a native of Cologne, Germany has seen all of his fights with the UFC go to the judges’ for decision. His sole loss in the UFC was to James Vick.
Hein is best known for appearing in the German television show Diese Kaminskis. Before he became an actor, he was also a national judo champion and police officer.
Hein will be returning to the UFC for the first time since September 2015 after coming off an injury.
His opponent Tae Hyun Bang, a native of Seoul, South Korea, will be making his fifth octagon appearance as well. Bang is coming off a split decision win over Leo Kuntz last November.
Prediction: Nick Hein defeats Tae Hyun Bang via unanimous decision.
Jessin Ayari (15-3) vs. Jim Wallhead (29-9)
Germany’s Jessin Ayari takes on England’s Jim Wallhead in the main event of the preliminary portion of UFC Fight Night 93.
Ayari is making his UFC debut and riding a six-fight win streak. The majority of his wins have come via submission in the form of guillotine and rear-naked chokes.
Wallhead also making his organizational debut enjoys both aspects of the mixed martial arts realm as his wins are split fairly close between both submission and TKOs. Wallhead has 11 TKO’s and 10 submissions to his credit.
Prediction: This is a tough fight to call since both fighters are making their UFC debuts and it is hard to tell exactly how they will react under the bright lights. If one thing is in favor of Ayari it will be having the backing of the hometown crowd. Ayari defeats Wallhead via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3.
Peter Sobotta (15-5-1) vs. Nicolas Dalby (14-1-1)
Poland’s Peter Sobotta and Denmark’s Nocolas Dalby will do battle in the welterweight division.
Dalby is currently 1-1-1 in the UFC after winning his first fight, then going to a draw with Darren Till, and most recently a unanimous decision loss to Zach Cummings.
Sobotta’s last fight was at UFC 193 in Australia where he suffered a first round TKO loss to Kyle Noke in the first round. Prior to the loss he had two wins in the UFC welterweight division.
Dalby averages at least two take downs per fight and I think that will be the deciding factor in this matchup.
Prediction: Nicolas Dalby defeats Peter Sobotta via split decision
Ashlee Evans-Smith (4-1) vs. Veronica Macedo (5-0)
20-year-old Venezuelan prospect Veronica Macedo is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. Macedo was called up for the short notice fight after Evans-Smith’s original opponent Germaine de Randamie fell off the card due to injury.
Evans-Smith became a figure-head in women’s mixed martial arts after becoming the first and only female to defeat transgendered fighter Fallon Fox.
Evans-Smith is coming off a win over Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh earlier this year. She has a strong wrestling pedigree and far more experience that Macedo even though they both have the same number of professional fights.
Macedo is definitely the underdog in this fight but do not count the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner out.
Prediction: Ashlee Evans-Smith via TKO – Round 2
Taylor Lapilus (10-2) vs. Leandro Issa (13-5)
Making his fourth UFC appearance, France’s Taylor Lapilus is going up against another Veteran of the UFC octagon in Leandro Issa. Lapilus is coming off a loss to Erik Perez but one thing that he has going for him is his incredible takedown defence. Lapilus defends 83.33 percent of the attempts made on him.
The Brazilian, Issa, has not competed since UFC 190 in August 2015 where he was defeated by Iuri Alcantara. He will have the disadvantage in reach and does not have a high takedown accuracy. Issa’s key to victory is to get Lapilus to the canvas where he can submit him.
If Lapilus can keep the fight standing or land takedowns to score points before quickly working back to his feet he should have his hand raised in victory.
Prediction: Taylor Lapilus defeats Leandro Issa via split decision
Jarjis Danho (6-1) vs. Christian Columbo (8-1)
Two massive heavyweights will collide on Saturday when Jarjis Danho or Syria and Christian Columbo of Denmark meet in the center of the octagon.
Danho who has a 100 percent takedown defense rating lost his UFC debut against Daneil Omielanczuk but every other professional fight that the Syrian has been in he either finished via TKO or submission. Danho is almost always seeking to finish the fight and his numbers do not lie.
Columbo has not lost a fight since September 2012 and he too has a high finish rate via technical knockout.
These two 265-pounders are going to come in and exchange leather with one another. Who wins is really anybody’s guess as whoever lands the bigger shot first will likely have their hand raised in victory.
Prediction: Columbo via TKO – Round 1
Scott Askham (14-2) vs. Jack Hermansson (13-2)
Scott Askham returns to the UFC octagon for the fifth time when he takes on Jack Hermanson. Askham has had two impressive victories inside the UFC with an explosive knockout from a knee over Antonio dos Santos Jr., and also a TKO over Chris Dempsey earlier this year.
Hermansson is making his organizational debut and will find that he has his hands full with a Veteran like Askham. Hermansson, a native of Sweden is coming off a TKO win over Ireneusz Cholewa at Venator FC 3 in May.
Prediction: Scott Askham via TKO – Round 2
Rustam Khabilov (19-3) vs. Leandro Silva (19-4-1)
The Russian born Rustam Khabilov has been inside the octagon with notable fighters such as Benson Henderson, Jorge Masvidal, Norman Parke, and Chris Wade. While Leandro Silva is no stranger to competition he has not faced the quality of fighters that Khabilov has. This is going to be a fight where Khabilov takes Silva down and outwrestles him on the mat. Training at Jackson-Wink has done wonders for Khabilov and I predict his coaches will devise a solid game plan to ensure the victory.
Prediction: Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision
UFC Fight Night 93 FightCard
Main Card on UFC Fight Pass – 3 p.m. EST
Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jan Blachowicz
Nick Hein vs. Tae Hyun Bang
Preliminary Bouts on UFC Fight Pass – 11:45 a.m. EST
Jessin Ayari vs. Jim Wallhead
Peter Sobotta vs. Nicolas Dalby
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Veronica Macedo
Taylor Lapilus vs. Leandro Issa
Jarjis Danho vs. Christian Columbo
Scott Askham vs. Jack Hermansson
Rustam Khabilov vs. Leandro Silva
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