A rare Sunday Night event for the UFC is upon as, as the promotion returns to Canada for UFC Fight Night 105. The event will be headlined by a heavyweight division clash as Derrick Lewis will be taking on Travis Browne. Also, former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks faces Hector Lombard and Sara McMann is in action.
Main Card
Main Event
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Derrick Lewis (17-4-0-1NC) vs. Travis Browne (18-5-1)
Lewis will be entering the fight riding a five fight winning streak, with some notable wins coming over Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga. Browne has only won just one of his last four fights, with that lone win coming over Matt Mitrione at UFC Fight Night 81. Lewis is currently undefeated in UFC main events, having defeated Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC Fight Night 102. Browne hasn’t put a winning streak together in over three years, his last winning streak lasted three fights and just over a years worth of time.
Prediction: Browne went from contender to pretender in the last few years, mostly due to changes in who he trains with. Lewis has great wrestling defense and one of the best striking games at heavyweight, Lewis flattens Browne early in the first round to get the knockout finish.
Co-Main Event
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Johny Hendricks (17-6-0) vs. Hector Lombard (34-6-1-2NC)
Hendricks will be making his middleweight division debut in this fight and he is also a former UFC Welterweight Champion. Lombard hasn’t won a fight in almost three years time and he is the former Bellator MMA Middleweight Champion. Hendricks will be entering the fight on a three fight losing streak, he hasn’t earned a victory in almost two years. Lombard has previously competed as a welterweight in the UFC, earning a record of 3-2-0-1NC during that time.
Prediction: Hendricks should be brings the power he had at welterweight to the middleweight division, while Lombard is a beast for a round and then he quickly tires. Hendricks survives and early onslaught before using his wrestling to ground Lombard, then ground and pound him on route to a third round finish.
UFC Featherweight Division Fight
Sam Sicilia (15-7-0) vs. Gavin Tucker (9-0-0)
Sicilia will be entering the fight riding a two fight losing streak, dropping fights to the duo of Doo Ho Choi and Gabriel Benitez. Tucker will be making his UFC debut in this fight and he is a longtime veteran of the Extreme Cage Combat promotion. Sicilia only competed once in 2016, which is the least amount of times he has competed in a year since 2007. Tucker has only seen one of his nine professional MMA fights go the distance, which came at Extreme Cage Combat 11 in 2011.
Prediction: Sicilia has the skills that a good mid-level fighter usually has, been his chin and submission defense have been suspect for awhile now. Tucker is good wherever the fight winds up going, Tucker uses his striking to get the fight to the ground, then submits Sicilia late in the first round.
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Cezar Ferreira (11-5-0) vs. Elias Theodorou (12-1-0)
Ferreira will be entering the fight on a three fight winning streak, defeating Oluwale Bamgbose, Anthony Smith and Jack Hermansson. Theodorou has won four of five fights under the UFC banner and he was the winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter Nations. Ferreira was the winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter Brazil I and he has earned a total of seven wins in the UFC. Theodorou has only suffered a single loss under the UFC banner, that came to Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 80.
Prediction: Ferreira does bring a strong ground game into the Octagon, but Theodorou has good defense wrestling and a methodical striking game, Theodorou gets a decision win here.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Division Fight
Gina Mazany (4-0-0) vs. Sara McMann (10-3-0)
Mazany will be making her UFC debut in this fight and she does as a late replacement for the injured Liz Carmouche. McMann will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak, with those wins coming over Jessica Eye and Alexis Davis. Mazany was a cast member on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 18, she lost to Juliana Pena during the elimination fights to get into the house. McMann has previously challenged for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title, losing to then champion Ronda Rousey at UFc 170.
Prediction: Mazany has some good skills, but McMann is an Olympic medalist wrestler, McMann ground and pounds mazany on route to a first round TKO finish.
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Paul Felder (12-3-0) vs. Alessandro Ricci (10-4-0)
Felder has won two of his last three under the UFC banner, with those wins coming over Daron Cruickshank and Josh Burkman. Ricci is currently winless thus far in UFC competition, dropping a fight to Jeremy Kennedy at UFC On Fox 21. Felder will be competing in Canada for the first time in over two years, his last UFC bout in Canada was a win over Jason Saggo at UFC Fight Night 54. Ricci has seen his last nine fights go the distance and it has been over four years since one of his fights ended via a finish.
Prediction: Felder has a great striking game and Ricci will want to get the fight to the ground, Felder uses his striking defensively to keep the fight standing and earn a decision.
Preliminary Card Quick Picks
Santiago Ponzinibbio over Nordine Taleb
Carla Esparza over Randa Markos
Aiemann Zahabi over Reginaldo Vieira
Thiago Santos over Jack Marshmann
Gerald Meerschaert over Ryan Janes
