UFC Fight Night Eye vs. Calvillo Undercard Preview, Predictions and Odds
The undercard portion of UFC Fight Night Eye vs. Calvillo airs Saturday on ESPN + from the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Six matchups to determine future UFC landscape are headlined by gritty scrappers Charles Rosa (+140) and Kevin Aguilar (-160). While Aguilar enters slightly favored, this fight could go either way.
Both combatants lost their previous Octagon appearance. After beginning his Zuffa trek with promise on the Dana White Contender Series, proud Texan Aguilar showed warrior heart while defeating his first two official UFC assignments. Since, however, the former prospect lost vs. Dan Ige and was quickly halted by Zubaira Tukhugov last November.
A plodding standup fighter with chin issues and little ground game, "The Angel of Death" lacks refinement. His only victory route is to remain standing and land heavier strikes vs. submission ace Charles Rosa.
Meanwhile, Rosa couldn't break his alternating loss-win pattern recently while being outpointed by Bryce "Thug Nasty" Mitchell. While the Bostonian has faced tougher names than his Saturday dance partner, a 3-3 Octagon record won't keep Rosa around UFC events much longer if he cannot put together wins.
Yet, with eight career submissions, Charles Rosa excels on the mat and can end matters while constantly seeking angles from the bottom.
For that reason, take Rosa by submission as he holds a decisive ground edge over Aguilar.
With the UFC Fight Night Eye vs. Calvillo undercard feature bout discussed, the following lightning picks round out the remaining five battles.
In women's bantamweight action look for a decisive Julia Avila (-485) TKO vs. trial horse Gina Mazany (+385). The odds tell the story here. Expect Avila (7-1) to shine during her comeback showcase following a near year-long absence. After defeating Valerie Barney in KOTC, short-notice replacement Mazany (6-3) gets another UFC chance after an initial 1-3 Octagon run. "The Raging Panda" should hand Mazany her second UFC knockout in as many appearances.
Avila by TKO
Flyweights Ryan Benoit (-115) and Tyson Nam (-105) meet in hopes of padding their mediocre UFC resumes. One will do so this weekend. Benoit (10-6) is 3-3 since his 2016 major league debut. The hard-hitting Texan owns noted wins over Sergio Pettis, Fredy Serrano and Ashkan Mokhtarian while recently losing via split decision against Heili Alateng. "Babyface" has knocked out seven of his ten pro victims.
Meanwhile, trial horse 36-year-old Nam (18-11-1) has dropped two consecutive decisions since joining the UFC.
Look for Nam to survive while using veteran instinct, but be outpointed by Benoit.
Benoit wins via decision
Featherweight prospects Jordan Griffin (-165) and Darrick Minner (+145) rematch on the highest MMA stage following Griffin's (18-11) 2018 armbar win over Minner. Expect this fight to end in similar fashion as "The Native Psycho" owns nine career tapouts and Minner (24-11) has submitted in eight of his 11 losses.
Griffin by Submission
MMAJunkie.com announced Monday Hannah Cifers will fight for the second time in as many weeks at a UFC event. Cifers (10-5) looks to redeem her recent kneebar loss vs. Mackenzie Dern as a short-notice replacement against debut UFC prospect Mariya Agapova (8-1). No odds are set for this fight, though look for Agapova to give Cifers her third straight Octagon loss.
Take Agapova by decision.
UFC Fight Night Eye vs. Calvillo action begins as UFC newcomers Anthony Ivy (-195) and Christian Aguilera (+160) meet in the welterweight division. Ivy (8-2), who holds multiple regional belts, was set to replace Ian Heinisch at UFC 250. When those plans fell through matchmakers chose Christian Aguilera (13-6) as Ivy's contracted opponent.
While each fighter is unproven and green in many areas, take "The Aquaman" by TKO vs. hard-hitting, but equally hittable Aguilera -four of his six losses come by TKO. Well rounded Ivy has gained five TKOs and three submissions in his eight pro wins.
Ivy by TKO