UFC Fight Night 170 Prelims Undercard Betting Odds and Predictions

The UFC returns to Brazil on March 14, 2020, for UFC Fight Night 170 at the Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brasil.

A lightweight bout between former interim title challenger Kevin Lee and Brazil’s own Charles Oliviera will headline the event which is also known as UFC on ESPN + 28. Two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aces will square off in the co-main event when former two-time world title challenger Demian Maia takes on three-time BJJ world champion Gilbert Burns in an All-Brazilian showdown. Brazilians Renato Moicanno, Johnny Walker and Francisco Trinaldo are also in the fight card facing separate opponents.

Before the main card, a very colorful and interesting prelims undercard will open the show. We previewed the prelims undercard fights below and picked the fighters whom we think will win you bets this weekend:

Jussier Formiga vs Brandon Moreno

Jussier Formiga is the 3rd ranked flyweight in the UFC today. The 34-year old from Natal, Rio do Norte, Brazil, is the former Shotoo South Africa 123-pound champion. He joined the UFC in 2012 and his first fight was a title eliminator which he lost to John Dodson. He is coming off a loss to Joseph Benavidez but is 4-1 in his last five bouts. Formiga owns notable wins over Deiveson Figueiredo, Sergio Pettis, Wilson Reis, and Chris Cariaso. Formiga is 23-6 with 10 wins by submission. He stands 5-5 with a reach of 67 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Brandon Moreno is currently ranked 5th in the UFC flyweight division. The 26-year old from Tijuana, Mexico also fought for Legacy Fighting Alliance and was a competitor at The Ultimate Fighter 25. After he was released by the UFC, Moreno won the LFA flyweight title before returning to the UFC last year. Moreno is 5-7 tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. He has a record of 16-5 with two knockouts and 10 submission wins.

Moreno swings heavy punches and he packs decent punching power. Formiga is shaky on his feet but has improved in his recent fights. It stays on the feet, “The Assassin Baby” has a shot here. However, Formiga will likely try to bring this fight down. Moreno gave up four takedowns during his fight with Askarov and although he is a good scrambler, Formiga has one of the best back control in MMA and his wrestling skills are good enough to get into a dominant position against Moreno.

Prediction: Jussier Formiga

Randa Markos vs Amanda Ribas

Randa Markos fought for Renaissance Fighting Alliance and is a former PFC strawweight champion. She joined the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter where she lost to Rose Namajunas in the semi-finals. Markos has not won back to back fights in the UFC and is coming off a win over Ashley Yoder last October 2019. She stands 5-4 tall with a reach of 63 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Markos’ record is 10-7 with four wins by submission.

Amanda Ribas fought for Jungle Fight and Pentagon Combat. She made her UFC debut at UFC on ESPN 3 where she recorded a submission win over Emily Whitmire. She defeated McKenzie Dern in her last fight and is 8-1 with three knockouts and three wins by submission. Ribas is 5-3 tall with a reach of 66 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Ribas annihilated McKenzie Dern but Markos is a more experienced wrestler and a much better striker than Dern. But Ribas tends to load up on her punches and that leaves an opening for Markos to land her big right hand. If that happens, this will be an interesting fight. However, Markos’ struggles with her takedown defense will be her downfall here. Ribas has terrific top control and her grappling should be the key to victory here.

Prediction: Amanda Ribas

Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos vs Alexey Kunchenko

Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos is a former Jungle Fight welterweight champion. The 33-year old Brazilian has joined the UFC in 2015 and after losing his promotional debut, he won seven straight fights before losing to Li Jinliang in his most recent fight. Dos Santos is 5-11 tall with a reach of 73 inches and is an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 21-6 with 14 knockouts and three submission wins.

Alexey Kunchenko is a former M-1 Global Champion who fought in various Russian promotions. The 35-year old Russian was 19-0 before joining the UFC. He defeated Thiago Alves and Yushin Okami in his first two Octagon bouts before losing to Gilbert Burns at UFC Fight Night 156. Kunchenko is 20-1 with 13 knockouts and one win by submission. He stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 70 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

This could end up as one of the best fights of the entire card. Zaleski loves violence while Kunchenko was a force of nature when he was still in the Russian scene. I won’t be surprised if we’re going to see 15 minutes of pure action. Zaleski is a terrific striker but his boxing is the weakest part of it. Kunchenko has some good punch combos that could give him the better of Zaleski during exchanges. He also is a durable guy whom Zaleski cannot simply overpower. I’ll take the underdog here.

Prediction: Sergey Spivak

Jordan Griffin vs T.J. Brown

Jordan Griffin is a veteran of LFA and who appeared in Dana White’s Contender Series 2. The Native Psycho dropped his first two UFC bouts, losing to Dan Ige and Chas Kelly by decision. He stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 inches and is a southpaw. Griffin has a record of 17-7 with five knockouts and 8 wins by submission.

T.J. Brown was also an alumnus of the Contender Series. After opening his career at 3-4, he won three straight bouts to earn a spot in Episode 10 of the Contender Series 3. Brown will be making his octagon debut in this fight. Downtown stands 5-9 with a reach of 72 inches and is a switch hitter. He has a record of 14-6 with four knockouts and nine wins by submission.

This is another exciting fight to pick as both men fight alike. They are both aggressive grapplers and they both have explosive offense in the standup. With a only five decisions in a combined 40+ fights, this one will be a firefight. Brown has a questionable chin but he is the better fighter when it comes to technical skills. I think that Griffin will be a game opponent and this will be a barnburner. However, I think that Brown is the better kickboxer and has a more diverse wrestling game. I’ll pick the more skilled fighter here.

Prediction: Alexey Kunchenko

Rani Yahya vs Enrique Barzola

Rani Yahya is a former ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. The 35-year old Brazilian for the WEC before joining the UFC in 2011. Yahya is 7-2 in his last nine fights but is coming off a loss to Ricky Simon last February 2019. He is 5-6 tall with a reach of 67 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. Yahya’s overall record is 26-10 with 20 wins by way of submission.

Enrique Barzola was the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2. The 30-year old Peruvian fought in the regional circuits of South American before joining the UFC in 2016. El Fuerte has lost two of his last three fights and has a record of 16-5 with four knockouts and four wins by submission. He stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 70 inches.

Yahya has an underdeveloped striking game but he has maximized his grappling skills to earn a decent MMA career. Barzola is ta takedown machine, averaging 4.5 takedowns per fight and 3.93 significant strikes per minute. Those are a lot of numbers both on the feet and on the ground. Barzola’s motor and pace could be a problem for Yahya whom we’ve seen before fade late in his fights. Yahya has dominated grapplers before but Barzola doesn’t dominate from top position and instead uses his takedowns to slow his opponents. If Yahya doesn’t get the early finish, Barzola wins a grinding fight.

Prediction: Enrique Barzola

Maryna Moroz vs Mayra Bueno Silva

Maryna Moroz fought for Xtreme Fighting Championships and is the head coach of the Ukrainian Olympic women’s boxing team. The 28-year old Iron Lady submitted Joanne Calderwood in her UFC debut but is just 3-3 inside the octagon since then. Moroz has a record of 9-3 with one knockout and five wins via submission. She stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 67 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Mayra Buena Silva fought for Premium Fight Championship and appeared in Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil season 1 where she submitted Mayana Souza dos, Santos. The 28-year old Brazilian known as Sheetara stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 66 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Silva showed little outside of her grappling during her UFC debut. Her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was impressive in handling grappler Gillian Robertson her first submission loss. But this will be her first fight since September 2018 and that, to me, is a big issue. Moroz is the better and stronger fighter on the feet and it’s unlikely that she will put herself in a compromising position where she will be submitted by Silva. This should be a competitive fight but I think Moroz’s striking will be the biggest difference-maker here.

Prediction: Maryna Moroz

Bruno Silva vs David Dvorak

Bruno Silva most recently fought for the Russian Cagefighting Championship and M-1 Challenge. He has finished his last five bouts before joining the UFC. He lost via submission at UFC 243 to Khalid Taha but that fight was at bantamweight and Taha missed weight. Silva stands 5-4 with a reach of 65 inches and is an orthodox fighter. His record is 19-6 with 16 knockouts.

David Dvorak will be making his UFC debut in this fight and he has 13 fight winning streak. The Czech fighter 15 finishes in 17 win with only three losses. Dvorak is the former XFN flyweight champion and one of the best flyweights in Europe. The “Undertaker” stands 5-5 tall and has a reach fo 68 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He heads to Brazil coming off a rear-naked choke win over Arsen Taigibov at Oktagon MMA 13.

Dvorak is a good counter-puncher who has a wide array of punch combinations. If he doesn’t get it done on his feet, he also has a solid ground game to lean on. Silva has the better kicking arsenal but Dvorak is the better boxer and the Czech has a good takedown defense that should be able to stuff Silva’s attempts to take this fight to the ground. Sure, he is taking this fight on short notice and he may be inexperienced outside Europe. However, I think Dvorak keeps this fight on the feet and he will time a perfect counter that ends this fight.

Prediction: David Dvorak

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