Looking to keep her undefeated record alive, Moura seeks her second win with the UFC. She earned her contract through the Contender Series in August then dominated Montserrat Ruiz in November. Grappling is the name of the game for this Brazilian as she does a great job of smothering her opponents on the mat and looking for finishing opportunities.
COLUMN: FIGHTER'S BLOCK
All of your mixed martial arts and full-contact combat sports news on the world's best fighters and the most intriguing matchups from your favorite MMA experts.
Returning to Louisville for the first time since their debut in the city back in March 2011, the UFC brings a solid 14-fight slate anchored by middleweight clash. Once again, it is refreshing to see the UFC slowly transitioning to a road schedule compared to settling for events in the UFC Apex.
Since dropping her UFC debut, Perez has bounced back with two dominant victories where she was able to accrue 20 minutes of control time over the course of 30 minutes of cage time. Her striking still needs work, but she does a great job of implementing her grappling and being a blanket from the top position. Out-muscling her opponent is often on the gameplan and she has been successful against 9 of his 11 opponents thus far.
After a week off, the UFC has returned with a PPV card going down in Newark, New Jersey. Two five-round fights headline the card with the lightweight title on the line and a pivotal middleweight affair below it.
After a blistering 19-second knockout in his UFC debut, Magomedov has fallen on hard times with back-to-back losses. Although he holds the “Magomedov” last name, he does not grapple as heavily or effectively as the name would lead you to believe. He largely relies on his power striking style to hurt his opponents, put them away, or set up submission opportunities for himself.
The featherweight division has a plethora of main event options they can choose from, especially when the UFC decides to go back to their home base of the Apex. Contenders, veterans, prospects, they have it all, and this weekend they hone in on a veteran vs prospect clash to anchor UFC Vegas 92.
It is refreshing to see the UFC head back out onto the road after shacking up at the Apex for as many events as they have. This weekend, they head down to St. Louis, Missouri for the first time in over 6.5 years. That night provided a featherweight main event, but the UFC decided to bring out the big guns and go with heavyweights.
Riding a two-fight winning streak, Aldrich is often overlooked in most of her fights which is why people have been able to cash her as an underdog on multiple occasions. She does not jump off the page as a spectacular fighter, but relatively speaking to the rest of her division she has very crisp striking and good counter striking. Her takedown defense allows her to keep fights in the striking realm where he can have most of her success.
Costa is looking to get back on the winning track after losing his last fight to Steve Erceg, who fights for the title in the main event. Costa is a BJJ black belt but often looks to impose his will on his opponents by walking them down and landing big shots. He stays consistent with his kicking game but leaves openings to be hurt in return.