For the first time ever, UFC Fight Pass subscribers will enjoy a title fight on the promotion's online service as newly-crowned Strawweight Women's Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk puts her belt on the line against former Invicta champ Jessica Penne at O2 World in Berlin, Germany, this Saturday afternoon (June 20, 2015).
In addition, former Shooto champion and Pride FC mainstay Tatsuya Kawajiri will look for his second UFC victory against German-based Russian Dennis Siver, while Peter Sobotta faces late replacement Steve Kennedy at Welterweight.
We originally had eight "Prelims" scheduled; however, Uriah Hall's visa issues (against Krzysztof Jotko) have cut the number down to seven. It would have been six but for a last-minute save from Arnold Allen.
Here's the first three:
185 lbs. Scott Askham vs. Antonio dos Santos Jr.
In June 2014, Scott Askham (12-1) was ranked among the Top 5 unsigned prospects alongside the likes of Thomas de Almeida and Islam Makhachev. Despite this glowing recommendation, he dropped a decision to Magnus Cedenblad in his Octagon debut despite dropping the big Swede with a nasty front kick in the second round.
At 6’3," he will have a five-inch height advantage.
A four-fight win streak capped off with a Jungle Fight title-winning knockout of Douglas Bertazini brought Antonio dos Santos Jr. (6-2) to UFC as a late replacement against Daniel Sarafian. The two engaged in an entertaining scrap before "Junior Alpha" injured his finger and attempted to call time-out, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
Four of his wins have come by form of knockout.
dos Santos impressed me in his fight with Sarafian, demonstrating some vicious striking against the The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) veteran. I can only hope his willingness to step up earned him enough brownie points that he’ll get a third chance after losing to Askham.
While I’m not as high on Askham, especially after that rough go against Cedenblad, he’s got a huge size advantage here, which should synergize well with his skill in the clinch. If he manages to, paradoxically, stay at close range and away from dos Santos’ gnarly leg kicks, the Englishman should be able to batter him against the fence. Askham grinds him down with clinchwork for either a unanimous decision or late technical knockout.
Prediction: Askham via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Piotr Hallmann vs. Magomed Mustafaev
Piotr Hallmann (15-3) enjoyed a strong start to his UFC career with submissions of Francisco Trinaldo and Yves Edwards sandwiching a close loss to Al Iaquinta. In his most recent bout, "Pletwal" dropped a decision to Gleison Tibau after which things went from bad to worse when he tested positive for drostanolone.
He’s stopped 14 opponents, seven by form of knockout and seven via submission.
Russia’s Magomed Mustafaev (11-1) nearly topped a list of the best Welterweight prospects on the planet, losing out only to TUF 21 competitor Kamaru Usman. In Sept. 2014, he won a one-night, four-man tournament wherein he defeated Abubakar Nurmagomedov, younger brother of Khabib.
His 11 finishes are split 7-4 in favor of knockouts and all have come inside of two rounds.
This certainly has the potential to be the card’s sleeper hit. It’s a very well-matched clash between two well-rounded opponents, meaning there’s the potential for quality action in all facets of the game. That said, I’m fairly confident that Mustafaev will take home the win.
Mustafaev’s ground game is a joy to watch, with beautiful scrambles and a vicious leglock series. While he’s not the most powerful wrestler, the drop to 155 pounds should help with that, and the fact that he’s working with an experienced camp in American Top Team (ATT) makes me think said drop won’t be an issue.
Expect him to impose his grappling on "Pletwal" in an entertaining affair before latching onto something in transition in the second round.
Prediction: Mustafaev via second-round submission
135 lbs.: Taylor Lapilus vs. Yuta Sasaki
Taylor Lapilus (9-1) was originally slated to make his Octagon debut against Dennis Siver before the Swedish MMA commission rightly put the kibosh on it. Instead, "Double Impact" faced TUF: "China" competitor Rocky Lee in Krakow, Poland, where he soundly outstruck his foe for a unanimous decision win.
He will give up four inches of height to Yuta Sasaki (18-2-2).
"Ulka" opened his UFC career by tapping fellow Judo specialist Roland Delorme in just 66 seconds, extending his unbeaten streak to twelve in the process. Said streak came to an end at the hands of Leandro Issa, who tapped the young prospect with a neck crank on the "Machida vs. Dollaway" card in Dec. 2014.
He’s stopped 11 opponents overall, eight by rear-naked choke.
Lapilus showed some decent striking and, with a good camp behind him, could become a very solid bantamweight. Right now, though, Sasaki is way too much, way too soon. Lapilus’ three opponents before Lee had a combined record of 2-8-1 and one of them took him to a split decision.
Plus, he’s still never eaten ground-and-pound in a professional fight.
Sasaki has every edge here. He’s bigger, stronger, more experienced, and should be able to flatten and tap Lapilus as soon as the fancy strikes him. Expect an early takedown from Sasaki, followed by Taylor’s rough introduction to the Unified Rules and "Ulka’s" signature rear-naked choke.
Prediction: Sasaki via first-round submission
Three more UFC Fight Night 69 fights to preview and predict, featuring a bevy of lighter-weight prospects.
Same time tomorrow, Maniacs!
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 69 fight card, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to start at 12 p.m. ET, right on through the main card action (also on Fight Pass), which is slated to start at 3 p.m. ET.