The Octagon is coming to Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday for UFC on ABC 5.
Surging featherweight blue-chip prospect Ilia Topuria will look to remain unbeaten when he fights Josh Emmett, who is coming off his interim title loss to Yair Rodriguez. It’s No. 5-ranked Emmett vs. No. 9-ranked Topuria, who could be just one or two wins away from a title shot if he beats Emmett.
Flyweights Amanda Ribas and Maycee Barber are the co-main event.
Before we get to the main card, though, Jacksonville will be witness to a solid preliminary slate featuring a couple more undefeated prospects and established veterans. Let’s take a look at five fights to watch on the UFC on ABC 5 preliminary card.
Neil Magny vs. Philip Rowe
Experience meets up-and-coming talent in the prelim headliner Magny, a 29-fight UFC veteran, is set to clash against Rowe, who is 3-1 in the UFC coming off a successful Contender Series bout.
Magny has fought a who’s who at welterweight since making his UFC debut in 2013 coming off Season 16 of The Ultimate Fighter. Magny’s most notable wins include Robbie Lawler, Johny Hendricks, Kelvin Gastelum, Tim Means, Hector Lombard, Geoff Neal, and Li Jingliang. His losses have come against the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Demian Maia, Shavkat Rakhmanov, Michael Chiesa, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Lorenz Larkin.
Suffice to say, “The Haitian Sensation” is a really good litmus test to see where Rowe is at. Since dropping his UFC debut to Gabe Green, Rowe has defeated Orion Cosce, Jason Witt and Niko Price.
Rowe can firmly establish himself as a prospect to watch at 170 if he can upset the wily veteran. He can also make a massive statement in the rankings, as Magny is No. 11 at welterweight. There’s a lot to gain for Rowe here.
Randy Brown vs. Wellington Turman
Randy Brown had a four-fight winning streak snapped by Jack Della Maddalena in his last outing. Before that, “Rudeboy” had dispatched Francisco Trinaldo, Khaos Williams, Jared Gooden and Alex Oliveira. Some of his other UFC losses? Belal Muhammad, Vicente Luque, Niko Price.
Brown has established himself as a welterweight action fighter and he’ll look to start a new streak against Turman in what should be a fun bout.
Turman’s bread is buttered with submissions: He only has one in the UFC but it was a nasty armbar against Misha Cirkunov – a fellow grappler.
Another wrinkle to this bout is that it will be Turman’s first welterweight fight in the UFC – he competed at middleweight in his other Octagon forays. It will be interesting to see if size plays a factor against Brown, though Turman was primarily a welterweight on the regional scene.
Tabatha Ricci vs. Gillian Robertson
Ricci and Robertson will meet in what should be a grappling fan’s delight – as long as the two hit the mat.
Robertson has developed a reputation as a submission artist, securing seven of them in the UFC. Her most recent came against Piera Rodriguez – Ricci’s friend and teammate. So there’s a revenge angle at play here. Robertson has also secured submissions over Molly McCann, Mariya Agapova, Veronica Hardy, and Cortney Casey, as well as former UFC strawweight queen Rose Namajunas in a grappling match.
“Baby Shark’s” lone loss came up a weight class against Manon Fiorot, a Frenchwoman knocking on the door of a flyweight title shot. At her natural 115-pound weight class, she is 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Jessica Penne, Maria Oliveira and Polyana Viana.
As if the revenge angle and grappling fun sure to ensue aren’t enough to get you to watch the fight, Ricci’s No. 15 strawweight ranking is in jeopardy, too.
Tatsuro Taira vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
Taira is one of three undefeated fighters gracing the card, joining the headlining Ilia Topuria and Trevor Peek, who we’ll get to next. Japan’s Taira, at 13-0 and 3-0 in the UFC, has emerged as a flyweight prospect to watch. The 23-year-old has already beaten Carlos Candelario, CJ Vergara and Jesus Aguilar since joining the promotion.
Rodrigues will look to halt Taira’s hype train. He is 1-1 in the UFC since coming off the Contender Series, beating Shannon Ross but losing to Vergara. Rodrigues, an exciting fighter in his own right, will look to keep it standing against the grappling-heavy Taira. He made quick work of Ross in just 59 seconds. He’ll look to end Taira’s night early, too.
Trevor Peek vs. Chepe Mariscal
Peek, the third undefeated fighter on the card at 8-0, will look to keep his unblemished record against Mariscal in a lightweight clash. Peek KO’d Erick Gonzalez with just one second left in the first round of his UFC debut.
Mariscal spent most of his career at featherweight. Mariscal has six T/KOs and three submission wins for a 69 percent finishing rate. Sparks will fly in what should be an exciting fight.
This one promises to be action-packed and should see if Peek is a finisher worth keeping a close eye on.
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