UFC 250 Prelims Undercard Betting Odds and Predictions

Two weight division champion Amanda “ The Lioness” Nunes defends her UFC featherweight belt against former Invicta FC featherweight champion Felicia Spencer in the main event of UFC 250 on Saturday night at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Nevada.

Before the main card, UFC 250 has an equally exciting prelims undercard which will be headlined by veteran Alex Caceres and undefeated prospect Chase Hopper. Let’s take a look at the event’s prelims undercard bouts and give out predictions for each bout:

Alex Caceres vs Chase Hopper

Alex Caceres fought for regional promotions before appearing in the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter. He owns the most accurate strike accuracy in the bantamweight division at 50.9% and is ranked 9th in the UFC bantamweight division for most strikes landed. The 31-year old stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 ½ inches while fighting out of the southpaw stance. Caceres owns a record of 15-12 with three knockouts and five wins by submission. He has split his last four bouts and is coming off a win over Steven Peterson.

Chase Hopper fought for Cage Sport before making an appearance in Dana White’s Contender Series. The undefeated featherweight prospect is still a work in progress but at 20 years of age, he is ahead of the curve. Hopper stands 6-1 tall and has a reach of 74 inches and is a southpaw fighter. His record stands at 9-0 with three knockouts and four wins by submission. He knocked out Daniel Teymur in his UFC debut at UFC 245.

Hopper’s striking is far from elite but because Caceres isn’t a big hitter, this is a favorable matchup for Hopper. Caceres has excellent Jiu-Jitsu but he’s struggled against the best grapplers in the promotion. Based on what we saw in his fight against Kron Gracie, I think Hopper’s wrestling will be good enough to take the fight to the mat. I think that Hopper takes Caceres down and rains a heavy ground and pound beating on him.

Prediction: Chase Hopper (-170)

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Ian Heinisch vs Gerald Meerschaert

Heinisch is the 12th ranked middleweight contender in the UFC. The 31-year old from Denver, Colorado competed for the World Series of Fighting and the Legacy Fighting Alliance where he was a former interim champion. He is a product of Dana White’s Contender Series. Heinisch stands 5-11 tall with a reach of 72 inches. His overall record is 13-3 with four knockouts and two wins by submission. He is coming off back to back losses to Derek Brunson and Omari Akhmedov.

Meerschaert is a veteran of RFA, Titan FC, and King of the Cage. This former RFA middleweight champion joined the UFC in 2016 and has an octagon record of 6-4 with five wins via submission and one by knockout. GM3 is 6-1 tall and has a reach of 77 ½ inches while fighting out of the southpaw stance. His professional record is 30-12 with six knockouts and 22 wins via submission.

I can’t find a clear path to how Heinisch is going to win this fight. His striking is more of aggression than technique and he struggles if he can’t find the takedown. On the other hand, GM3 is very good on the mat and is a volume striker on his feet. Meerschaert isn’t hard to hit but he showed a very durable chin against Thiago Santos. Unless Heinisch can hurt Meerschaert bad, I don’t think he has a chance on the feet and when GM3 takes this fight to the mat.

Prediction: Gerald Meerschaert (+105)

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Cody Stamann vs Brian Kelleher

Stamann is the 12th ranked bantamweight in the UFC today. The 30-year old fighter known as Mr. Wonderful won the MFL bantamweight champion and also fought for Knockout Promotions before ending up in the UFC in 2017. Stamann is 4-1-1 inside the UFc octagon. He is 5-6 tall and has a reach of 64 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Overall, Stamann is 18-2 with six knockouts and two wins via submission.

Kelleher is the former Ring of Combat bantamweight champion who also had stints with Bellator and CCFC. Boom defeated Yuri Alcantara in his UFC debut which he took on short notice. He has fought eight times inside the UFC’s octagon and has five wins and three losses under the promotion. Overall Kelleher is 21-10 with eight knockouts and nine wins by submission. He stands 5-6 tall and has a reach of 66 inches and is a switch hitter.

Kelleher is taking this fight on a 30-day turnaround. But the momentum of his win against Azure should give him plenty of confidence here. Stamann is more experienced than Azure and he can stand with big hitters while also defend himself well on the mat. I think that Stamann can take this fight to the mat if he gets in trouble on his feet. He has a clear edge in grappling and I believe he will be able to control this fight.

Prediction: Cody Stamann (-260)

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Charles Byrd vs Maki Pitolo

Byrd was a staple of the Legacy Fighting Alliance who entered the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series. Byrd won two fights in the DWCS before making a successful octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 127. But since his submission win over John Philipps, he has lost back to back fights to Darren Stewart and Edmen Shahbazyan. He is 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 inches and has a record of 10-6 with 3 knockouts and five wins via submission.

Pitolo fought for VFC, CFFC, and Bellator before joining the DWCS last year. A first-round knockout win over Justin Michael Sumter led to a UFC contract but Pitolo’s UFC debut ended in defeat as he dropped a unanimous decision to Callan Porter. Pitolo was supposed to fight last February but fell ill. He has a record of 12-5 with six knockouts and three wins by way of submission. Pitolo is 5-10 tall with a reach of 75 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Both fighters have been disappointing if you want to call it that way. But when you take a look at their struggles, Byrd did better in his last two bouts than Pitolo did. In the latter’s last bout, he was dominated by a smaller and inferior opponent. Byrd looks like the more technically superior fighter here and Pitolo seems to get bothered by takedowns. Byrd’s level changes and long-distance shots should be the difference here.

Prediction: Charles Byrd (-177)

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Alex Perez vs Jussier Formiga

Alex Perez is the 9th ranked contender in the UFC flyweight division. The 28-year old from California is a former Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion. He earned a UFC contract after a submission win over Kevin Gray at DWCS 5. Perez is 5-6 tall with a reach of 65 inches and is an orthodox fighter. His record stands at 23-5 with four knockouts and seven wins via submission.

Jussier Formiga is the #4 ranked flyweight in the UFC and is a former Shooto South American 123-pound champion. Formiga also fought for the Tachi Palace Fights before making his UFC debut at UFC on FX5 where he lost a title eliminator against John Dodson. Formiga is 23-7 with 10 wins by submission. He stands 5-5 tall with a reach of 67 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Perez is one inch taller but Formiga is a couple of inches longer than him. This is a tough one to call but I don’t think it’s going to be about size or maybe even skill. Formiga is already 35 years old and I’m not sure if he can keep up with the younger Perez. This is a coin flip but I like the younger man.

Prediction: Alex Perez (-129)

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Alonzo Menifield vs Devin Clark

Menifield fought for Bellator and LFA before he joined the UFC after a stint in the DWCS. Menifield is undefeated at 9-0 with eight knockouts and 1 win via submission. He stands 6-0 tall with a reach of 76 inches and is an orthodox fighter. He has won his last four bouts via knockout.

Clark is a former RFA light heavyweight champion who joined the UFC in 2016. The 30-year old Brown Bear has a record of 11-4 with three knockouts and one win by submission. He stands 6-0 tall with a reach of 75 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Clark is coming off a decision win over Dequan Townsend.

Clark has what it takes to be the spoiler here. His losses have been to elite fighters, he is well-rounded, and Menifield won’t enjoy the size advantage that he’s had against most of his foes. Unless Meinfield can catch him with a big punch early, I think Clark can drag this to a long fight with his takedowns. I’ll take the plus money here.

Prediction: Devin Clark (+185)

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Evan Dunham vs Herbert Burns

Evan Dunham fought for PFP, RFC, and PFC before joining the UFC in 2009. Dunham has a record of 18-8 with three knockouts and six wins via submission. He is coming off back to back knockout losses to Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Francisco Trinaldo. Dunham is a southpaw who stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 70 inches.

Herbert Burns is the brother of Gilbert Burns who upset Tyron Woodley last weekend. Burns is 5-9 tall and has a reach of 73 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance Burns has a record of 10-2 with one knockout and seven wins via submission. He is coming off a first-round TKO of Nate Landwehr.

Burns has a deadly submission game but his striking and wrestling aren’t up to par against Dunham. Burns is easy to hit and that should be a disaster against a volume striker like Dunham. Dunham has never been submitted and after an even first round, I think that Dunham takes over on the feet and uses his size advantage to maul Burns.

Prediction: Evan Dunham (+195)

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