Preview: UFC on ESPN 23 Prelims

Featherweights

NR | Luke Sanders (13-4, 3-4 UFC) vs. NR | Felipe Dias Colares (9-2, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Sanders (-155), Colares (+135)

Things worked out for these two. They each lost their original opponents on this card, so instead, they wind up fighting each other. Sanders moves up to featherweight for the first time since his 2016 UFC debut, which saw him earn a surprising upset over Maximo Blanco. Perhaps Sanders can recapture that form here, since the last five years have not been particularly kind to him. Sanders checks a lot of boxes as a powerful athlete who can strike and wrestle, but he has been undone by an amazing ability to cost himself victories, often dominating bouts until a defensive lapse allows his opponent to win a fight in an instant. He will look to finish out a win against Colares, who has acquitted himself well during his time in the UFC. The Brazilian did not show much in his pre-UFC film, but he has proven to be a persistent wrestler and ground-and-pound artist, even if that has led to his hitting a physical or technical wall in two of his three UFC outings. Colares’ wins are more attritive than based on sudden knockouts or submissions, so Sanders should be able to ride out any rough going. The pick is Sanders via decision.