So, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest gig at the UFC Apex in Vegas is shaping up to be quite the event this Saturday. We’ve got Eryk Anders and Ludovit Klein headlining the top two bouts at UFC Fight Night 238. After beefing up their game recently, they’re looking at what could be easy wins against their current rivals.
Now, let’s not forget about the bantamweight clash between Aiemann Zahabi and Javid Basharat. These two are on the rise, folks. And there’s also a middleweight scrap between Christian Leroy Duncan and Claudio Ribeiro that promises some fireworks. Plus, we’ve got a couple of Dana White’s Contender Series stars making their UFC debut. Vinicius de Oliveira is squaring off against Bernardo Sopai, and Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady is taking on the seasoned Loik Radzhabov. Honestly, it sounds like there’s something for everyone.
Alright, diving into the UFC Fight Night 238 prelims preview:
Middleweights are up first. Eryk Anders (15-8, 7-8 UFC) is facing Jamie Pickett (13-10, 2-6 UFC). The odds? Anders is sitting pretty at -425, with Pickett at +330. It’s kinda funny, thinking back to when Anders was headlining events six years ago. Now, he’s hitting a new stride. He showed promise when he first joined the UFC in 2017 but got thrown into the deep end pretty quick. Main events against Lyoto Machida and Thiago Santos were tough, mostly because of Anders’ fame as a former Alabama linebacker.
After a few losses, Anders kept at it in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. His journey was a mix of wins that didn’t inspire much excitement and losses that just felt frustrating. But, his physicality and toughness always kept him in the fight. His style, though? Kinda slow and not much output, which often made the fights a bit of a snooze fest.
However, things started to look up with his 2022 fight against Jun Yong Park. Despite a controversial split decision loss, Anders showed signs of a more effective fighting style. He picked up the pace and improved his striking. While the results haven’t been groundbreaking yet, Anders seems to be peaking as a fighter.
As for Pickett, it’s surprising he’s still in the UFC after four straight losses. He’s always had the physical and athletic talent but often hesitated to make a move. He seemed to find his groove as a grinder with a two-fight winning streak, but his last four fights? Not great. He was outworked and looked out of his element. Without his usual physical edge, it’s tough to see this fight going any way but Anders’. I’m calling it: Anders via second-round stoppage.
And there you have it. Whether you’re into middleweights throwing down or the fresh faces from Dana White’s Contender Series, UFC Fight Night 238’s prelims are not to be missed.