UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Hooker Prelims Undercard Betting Odds and Predictions

The UFC returns to action this Saturday with a pair of top lightweights fighting in the main event.

Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier will take on #5 lightweight Dan Hooker in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27, 2020, at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was supposed to be called UFC Fight Night Austin and it was one of the events that were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Before the UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Hooker main card, the event has an exciting prelims schedule that you don’t want to miss. So check out the prelims bout below and we’ll help you pick your winners for the event:

Luis Pena vs Karma Worthy

Luis Pena was a competitor at The Ultimate Fighter 27 who also fought for Fight Hard MMA and won the Valor Fights lightweight championship. The 26-year old from Arkansas is 4-2 inside the UFC octagon and has an overall record of 8-2 with two knockouts and four wins via submission. He stands 6-3 tall with a reach of 75 inches and is a southpaw. He is coming off a decision win over Steve Garcia last February 2020.

Karma Worthy fought for Pinnacle FC and KOTC among others. He joined the UFC last year, taking a fight against Devonte Smith on four days’ notice and winning the fight via knockout. The 33-year old from Pittsburgh has a record of 15-6 with nine knockouts and two wins via submission. Worthy stands 5-11 tall with a reach of 74 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Worthy is dangerous with his power but he is fragile because of his lack of defense. Pena is not a knockout artist but he has the skills to hurt Worthy in the stand-up and he can exploit Worthy’s aggression to set up submission opportunities. Durability has not been an issue for Pena given his relatively small frame so I don’t think Worthy can finish him here. If the power puncher cannot hurt his opponent, the more technical fighter wins.

Prediction: Luis Pena (-235)

Philipe Lins vs Tanner Boser

Philipe Lins fought for Bellator before he won the 2018 Professional Fighters League heavyweight tournament. The 34-year old from Brazil is making a quick turnaround after losing his UFC debut against Andre Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 171 last May 13, 2020. Monstro has a record of 14-4 with 8 knockouts and four wins via submission. This orthodox fighter stands 6-2 tall with a reach of 78 inches.

Tanner Boser fought for may promotions and was a mainstay of Unified MMA and ACB. This 28-year old from Alberta, Canada has split his first two UFC bouts and is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Cyril Gane at UFC Fight Night 165 last December 21, 2019. The Bulldozer has a record of 17-6 with 8 knockouts and two wins via submission. He stands 6-2 tall with a reach of 75 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Boser isn’t an explosive heavyweight and he is one of the most boring heavyweights in the promotion. Lins can finish fights but he isn’t aggressive and likes to wait for his opportunities. Because of those tendencies, I think we’ll see more circling and feints here instead of big exchanges. I think this will boil down to Lins’ power. If Boser can’t dictate the pace with his different approaches, then Lins’ more telling blows will catch more attention in a fight with sporadic exchanges.

Prediction: Oscar Piechota (-111)

Cortney Casey vs Gillian Robertson

Cortney Casey is the 15th ranked strawweight in the UFC. The 33-year-old from Arizona is a former PXC women’s flyweight title challenger. Since joining the UFC, she’s amassed a record of 5-6 inside the octagon. Casey stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 67 inches and is an orthodox fighter. She has a record of 9-7 with three knockouts and four submission victories.

Gillian Robertson was a competitor at The Ultimate Fighter 26 who was signed by the UFC after the tournament. She holds the UFC strawweight record for most wins and knockouts. She stands 5-5 tall with a reach of 63 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Anderson has a record of 7-4 with one knockout and five submission wins. She is coming off a knockout loss to Maycee Barber.

Casey is the more balanced fighter in this matchup and you can argue that she has the better striking game. She’s also a durable fighter who has shown she can go the distance in close fights. However, she doesn’t have a good takedown defense and is facing an opponent who is a takedown machine. Robertson likes to control fights on the ground and that is what she will do here. If Casey can stuff the takedowns, she has a shot here. Otherwise, it’s gonna be a grinding win for Robertson.

Prediction: Philipe Lins (-110)

Takashi Sato vs Ramiz Brahimaj

Takashi Sato is the former Pancrase welterweight king. The 30-year old from Tokyo in Japan joined the UFC last year and had an auspicious debut when he knocked out Ben Saunders at UFC Fight Night 150. He has an overall record of 15-3 with 10 knockouts and two wins via submission. He stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 inches and is a southpaw. Sato is coming off a submission loss to Belal Muhamad at UFC 242 last September 2019.

Ramiz Brahimaj is one of the up and coming talents from Fortis MMA. This 27-year-old from the Bronx who traces his roots to Albania stands 5-10 tall and has a reach of 73 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He fought for XKO and LFA before heading to the UFC. He has a record of 8-2 with all of his wins coming via submission. In his last bout, Brahimaj recorded an arm-triangle choke of Carlos Martinez at LFA 62.

Brahimaj is a capable wrestler and an active submission hunter in the few clips of him that are on the internet. However, it’s unsure whether those skills will hold against the top-quality competition. Sato is tough to put down on the mat and the Japanese brawler has quick and powerful hands that will hurt Brahimaj. Sato flattened Ben Saunders in his octagon debut. I think he does the same to Brahimaj here.

Prediction: Takashi Sato (-129)

Kay Hansen vs Jinh Yu Frey

Kay Hansen is a former professional boxer who also fought for Invicta FC. The 20-year-old from Fullerton in California was the youngest fighter to win a bout at Invicta FC. Hansen has a record of 6-3 with two knockouts and three wins via submission. She stands 5-3 tall with an undisclosed reach and fights out of the orthodox stance. Lansen heads to this bout coming off a March 2020 decision victory over Liana Pirosin at Invicta FC: Phoenix Series 3.

Jinh Yu Frey is the former Invicta FC atomweight champion who also fought but lost to Ayaka Hamasaki for the Rizin FC atomweight title. This 35-year old Korean-American stands 5-2 tall and has an undisclosed reach while fighting out of the orthodox stance. Frey has a record of 9-4 with one knockout and two wins via submission. In her most recent bout, Frey decisioned Ashley Cummings in her UFC debut.

Frey prefers to fight on her feet and she is at her best when her opponent doesn’t press the issue. She has good movement and a terrific left hand that helps her control slow and chess-type matches. However, Hansen doesn’t get into boring fights. She likes to take the fight to the mat right away and dominate with her wrestling. I think that Hansen will have a lot of success in top control here. Her disadvantage in striking skills should be offset by her physical advantages and wrestling abilities.

Prediction: Kay Hansen (-161)

Jordan Griffin vs Youssef Zalal

Jordan Griffin is another product of the Contender Series and was supposed to fight Darrick Miner last June 13th but after Miner could make weight, the bout was scrapped. Now the Native Psycho gets a chance to even his 1-2 UFC record against Yossef Zalal. Griffin has a record of 18-7 with five knockouts and nine wins via submission. This 30-year old southpaw stands 5-10 tall and has a reach of 73 inches.

Youssef Zalal is a longtime LFA veteran who also fought for SCL. This 23-year old from Colorado defeated veteran Austin Lingo in his UFC debut last February. He has a record of 8-2 with two knockouts and five wins via submission. The Moroccan Devil stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 72 inches and is a switch hitter. Zalal has gone the distance only once in his career.

Zalal had problems against a relentless takedown artist in Jose Mariscal when they fought last year and that could be a problem against Griffin who has good submission defense. If Zalal can use his movement, kicks, and takedowns like he did against Austin Lingo, then he will have a good shot at winning his second straight UFC bout. However, I think Griffin will outland him on the feet and out-scramble Zalal to a competitive decision win.

Prediction: Jordan Griffin (+111)

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