Preview: UFC Fight Night 189 Prelims

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Heavyweights

NR | Tanner Boser (19-7-1, 3-2 UFC) vs. NR | Ilir Latifi (14-8, 7-6 UFC)

ODDS: Boser (-190), Latifi (+165)

This should be a strange fight between two unorthodox heavyweights. Most heavyweights make it to the UFC on a string of knockout wins, but Boser came into the promotion with quite the opposite approach. The Canadian got by during a long regional career by staying mobile and peppering opponents with low-powered strikes. After splitting his first two UFC bouts, Boser turned a corner in 2020, upping his output and pressing the action a bit more, which even led to knockout wins over Philipe Lins and Raphael Pessoa. However, “The Bulldozer” could not complete a breakout year, as his last bout saw him lose a narrow decision to Andrei Arlovski. Still just 29 years old, Boser has another decade or so to make his rise through the heavyweight ranks, and he looks to rebound here against Latifi.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Sweden’s “Sledgehammer” has spent most of his UFC career at light heavyweight and enjoyed plenty of success through 2018. A bowling ball of a man, Latifi would often blast his opponents in short order, but his considerable physical strength meant he could often grind out a win just by bulling his opponents against the fence. However, as Latifi has aged and taken on damage, his approach has gotten less and less effective, mostly thanks to reduced output. Without the constant threat of a knockout, Latifi looked small and slow at light heavyweight and was mostly a sitting duck for younger and more athletic opponents. Latifi moved up to heavyweight prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and his loss against Derrick Lewis was a mixed bag. It was legitimately impressive that Latifi could still move around and outwrestle such a gigantic opponent, but he still wound up dropping the fight due his anemic offensive output. Boser’s wrestling has not been tested much, though Latifi figures to be able to throw around the Canadian a bit either way. It will be interesting to see how much Latifi can control the fight and how much damage he can inflict while doing so since Boser figures to be the quicker and more accurate striker once this fight is on the feet. There is a chance that Boser can score a knockout, as Latifi has never been particularly durable. With that said, the expectation is that Latifi can survive and neutralize Boser for an extremely ugly win. The pick is Latifi via decision.

Continue Reading » Salikhov vs. Trinaldo