UFC 292 Preview

Welcome ladies and gentleman, we are in for another epic night of fights on Saturday, August 19. UFC 292 will be taking place in Boston, Massachusetts, at the TD Garden. This fight card is pretty solid from top to bottom. The main card features two title fights as the #1 Bantamweight on the planet and arguable best Bantamweight of all time Aljamain "Funkmaster" Sterling (23-3) defends his Bantamweight Championship for the fourth time against rising superstar "Suga" Sean O'Malley (16-1) and two-time Strawweight Champion Zhang "Magnum" Weili (23-3) defending her Strawweight Championship against the ultra-talented Amanda Lemos (13-2). Before we witness this fight card on Saturday August 19, I wanted to share my thoughts and predictions on each fight.

Aljamain Sterling vs Sean O'Malley

First off, I want to begin by saying: PUT SOME RESPECT ON ALJAMAIN STERLING'S NAME! Out of all the champions in the UFC, I feel that Aljo is extremely under appreciated and is currently one of the best fighters on the planet. Alright, now let's get to the breakdown of this fight. The narrative coming into this fight is that "Suga" Sean is the UFC's golden boy and has been given the easy route to the belt, while Aljo had to scratch and claw his way to the top. As a person who had to work for every opportunity, I can understand why Aljo is viewing the fight from that perspective. This fight represents a perfect example of a fighter vs grappler matchup, it's no secret that Sterling wants to take the fight to the ground and Sean wants to keep the fight standing. Sterling might have an argument of being one of the top 3 jiu-jitusu practitioners in the UFC, he doesn't call himself "the human backpack" for no reason. Aljamain will be looking to march forward, while using his kicks to get in range and take O'Malley down to submit him. O'Malley will be looking to implement his smooth footwork and use his sniper of a right hand to knock Aljamain out cold. He must use his length and his spectacular kicks from the outside to keep Aljo at a distance because if Aljo takes him down, this fight will be over. Will Aljo be able to prove the haters wrong and further stake his claim as the best Bantamweight ever? Will the UFC have another superstar on their hands with a Sean O'Malley victory? I'm extremely excited and can't wait to see this fight! Let's go!

Prediction: Aljamain Sterling via 4th-round Submission

Zhang Weili vs Amanda Lemos

For some reason, I've been going back and forth with myself about the winner of this fight for some reason. Zhang Weili is expected to dominate this fight, being that she's one of the best fighters on the planet and Amanda Lemos is coming into the fight ranked at number five. On paper, Zhang is expected to dominate, but we all know how much I root for the underdogs. All fight week, Boston has given me the feeling of an epic fight night full of surprises and for that reason I'm going to lean towards Amanda Lemos with the upset. As I mentioned previously, Zhang Weili is one of the best fighters on the planet and represents the cream of the crop in women's MMA. She has excellent striking, good jiu-jitsu, and the heart of a lion. She will be looking to use her lightning-quick striking to put Amanda's light out and continue her reign at the top. Amanda has good striking, excellent jiu-jistu, and knockout power, which is rare in the women's lower weight classes. Yes, Amanda is outmatch in pretty much every aspect of this fight, but she does have the advantage in one thing...she doesn't have any pressure coming into this fight. Weili has all the pressure on her shoulders because she's expected to win. Amanda has the option to just come into that cage and fight her fight. For some reason, I feel that Amanda is going to shock the world tonight and have a Alexa Grasso-esque performance! We shall see Saturday night!

Prediction: Amanda Lemos via 3rd-round Knockout