Preview: UFC on ESPN 31 Prelims

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

Heavyweights

NR | Azamat Murzakanov (10-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. NR | Jared Vanderaa (12-6, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Murzakanov (-185), Vanderaa (+160)

Murzakanov was one of the standouts of the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series, which was not a surprise. The Russian was already accomplished enough to deserve a UFC spot outright and was even briefly under contract in 2017 until a failed drug test derailed those plans. “The Professional” has impressed greatly during his few fights since, adding some knockouts to his undefeated record, but there are some points for concern. He is an undersized light heavyweight who prefers a low-output style built on single big moments of offense, most of which lead to a finish. That makes for an interesting dynamic here, as after a few delays and opponent changes, Murzakanov makes his UFC debut up a weight class at heavyweight against Jared Vanderaa. While Vanderaa’s style is not particularly functional on its own, “The Mountain” has been able to get by on his size and physicality. Much of Vanderaa’s success getting to the UFC was found simply by smothering and overwhelming his opponents. At the UFC level, that has not worked out. Sergey Spivak and Alexander Romanov had the requisite level of wrestling to dominate Vanderaa without much effort, though he was surprisingly able to win a striking-based affair against Justin Tafa in May. It would not be a shock if Vanderaa managed to take an ugly decision win. He is willing to throw out volume that could win rounds, and he might just be durable enough to survive Murzakanov’s occasional blitzes of offense. Still, the bet is that Murzakanov can cause enough damage during those moments to make them count as the biggest moments of each round—if he does not just outright knock out Vanderaa. This is a closer fight than it should be, mostly due to the unbeaten Russian wading into heavyweight waters, but the pick is Murzakanov via second-round knockout.

Continue Reading » Morono vs. Gall