UFC London Prelims Undercard Betting Preview

UFC action shifts to the O2 Arena in London for UFC London this Saturday night with the fast-rising Englishman Tom Aspinall facing veteran contender Curtis Blaydes in the main event.

Meanwhile, Jack Hermansson will face Chris Curtis in a short-notice bout in the co-feature while popular fighter Paddy Pimblett hopes to keep moving up when he takes on Jordan Leavitt on the main card. Also on the main card will be the return of Alexander Gustafsson who will take on Nikita Krylov.

Before the big names take the Octagon, an exciting prelims undercard will open the show. Let’s take a look at the key prelims undercard bouts and make our predictions.

L’udovit Klein vs Mason Jones

L’udovit Klein began his career in Slovakia where he fought under PCF and Hanuman Cup. The 27-year-old from Nove Zamky, Slovakia also appeared in OKTAGON, Cage Warriors, and XFN before joining the UFC in 2020. He is 2-2 in four Octagon appearances and is coming off a split decision win over Devonte Smith at UFC 272 last March 5th.

Klein is 18-4 with 8 knockouts and 8 submission wins. He is a southpaw who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 72 inches.

Mason Jones is a former lightweight and welterweight champion at Cage Warriors. The 27-year-old from Blaenavon, Wales joined the UFC in 2021 and lost to Mike Davis in his UFC debut. Jones’ second bout against Alan Patrick ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke. The Welshman finally picked up his first UFC win when he defeated David Onama via unanimous decision.

Jones is 11-1 with four knockouts and three submission wins. He stands 5-10 tall with a reach of 74 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Jones steps in on short notice to replace Ignacio Bahamondes who withdrew from this bout with visa issues. The Welshman doesn’t have the best defense in the business but his judo skills and his come-forward style are the skills that have given Klein plenty of issues in previous bouts.

No question, Klein is the better striker than Jones. He also has the knockout power to put Jones to sleep. However, Jones isn’t the fighter who will stand toe-to-toe when he is at disadvantage. He will be relentless in going for the takedowns or force him to fight on his back foot with his pressure. We’ve seen Klein run out of gas before and I think Jones has that pressure game to make Klein fail again.

Prediction: Mason Jones

Marc Diakiese vs Damir Hadzovic

Marc Diakiese is a former BAMMA Lonsdale British lightweight champion, Cage Kumite lightweight champion, and MMA Total Combat lightweight champion. The 29-year-old from the Democratic Republic of Congo joined the UFC in 2014. He won his first three UFC assignments and lost his next 3. Since then, he is 3-2 and is coming off a decision win against Viacheslav Borschev last March 26th.

Diakiese is 15-5 with six knockouts and one submission win. He is 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Damir Hadzovic began his career at Fighter Gala, Cage Fight Live, Cage Warriors, and Venator FC among other promotions. The 35-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the UFC in 2016 and is 4-4 in eight UFC bouts. Hadzovic defeated Yancy Medeiros via decision in his most recent bout at UFC Vegas 30 last June 26, 2021.

Hadzovic is 5-9 tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. He has a record of 14-6 with seven knockouts and three submission wins.

Diakiese has the tools to win this fight rather easily. He has the height, reach, and long-range kickboxing that will give him the advantage in a striking battle. He may also be durable enough for Hadzovic to surprise him with one big punch. He is also willing and able to grind out his opponents if that option presents itself to him. With Hadzovic’s 37% takedown defense, that opportunity could be available for Diakiese.

Whether this fight is fought on the feet or taken to the ground, Diakiese has a clear advantage against Hadzovic. I’m predicting Diakiese to catch Hadzovic with a knockout punch but if that does not happen, he’s going to take this fight to the mat and grind out a decision.

Prediction: Marc Diakiese

Nathaniel Wood vs Charles Rosa

Nathaniel Wood is a veteran who has been fighting since 2012. The 28-year-old Englishman is a former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion. After making two successful title defenses, he joined the UFC in 2018 and won his first three assignments. Wood is just 1-2 in his last three bouts and is coming off a loss to Casey Kenney at UFC 254 way back in 2020.

Wood is 17-5 with 9 knockouts and five submission wins. He stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 69 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Charles Rosa began his career at CFA, CES MMA, and Fight Lab. He entered the UFC with an unbeaten 9-0 record but alternated wins and losses in his first 10 UFC assignments. Rosa heads to this bout with back-to-back losses against Damon Jackson and T.J. Brown.

Overall, he has a record of 14-7 with three knockouts and eight submission wins. He stands 5-9 tall with a reach of 69 inches and is a switch hitter.

Rosa has a decent stand-up game and he can do some good work from the top position. However, despite being a veteran of 10 years inside the Octagon, his takedown defense is still lousy. With that gaping hole in his game still there, even subpar wrestlers can have their way with him on the mat.

Wood is the better striker between these two and on average, he lands twice as more significant strikes per minute as Rosa. And since Rosa doesn’t have the offensive wrestling to take this fight to the ground, then Wood will dictate where this fight will end up. Unless Rosa surprises with an unexpected submission here, Wood will out-strike him on the feet in an easy striking battle or out-work him on the mat in a grinding contest. Either way, Wood wins.

Prediction: Nathaniel Wood

Makwan Amirkhani vs Jonathan Pearce

Makwan Amirkhani started his fighting career in his native Finland where he fought under promotions like TF, Cage, StandUp War, and Fight for Glory, before joining the UFC in 2015. Amirkhani opened his UFC career by winning six out of his first eight Octagon assignments. He is 1-3 in his last four bouts but is coming off a win over Mike Grundy at UFC Fight Night 204.

He owns a record of 17-7 with 1 knockout and 12 submission victories. Amirkhani is a southpaw who is 5-10 tall and has a reach of 72 inches.

Jonathan Pearce began his MMA career at Valor Fights, APEX Fights, Shogun Fights, and Evolution Combat Sports Series before joining the UFC in 2019 via the Contender Series. Pearce lost to Joe Lauzon in his UFC debut but has since won three consecutive bouts and is coming off a win over Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 48.

Pearce is a switch hitter who is six feet tall with a reach of 71 inches. He owns a record of 12-4 with eight knockouts and two submission wins.

Amirkhani has a resume filled with quick finishes but it is also one that is notorious for late fight collapses. Given that we’ve seen Pearce overwhelmed early in some bouts, there’s a chance that Amirkhani blitzes him here. But if he does not get the quick finish, there’s also a possibility that Pearce wears him out for the decision.

I expect Amirkhani to find early success in this contest. However, he doesn’t do good damage when he takes the top position. That should enable Pearce to survive the early onslaught and shift the momentum of the bout with his activity. For as long as Pearce is careful that his neck won’t be caught by Amirkhani, he should rally to win the last two rounds and pick up the points win.

Prediction: Jonathan Pearce

Muhammad Mokaev vs Charles Johnson

Muhammad Mokaev is an unbeaten prospect from Manchester, England. The 21-year-old began his MMA career at Celtic Gladiator and Brave CF before joining the UFC earlier this year. The Punisher defeated Cody Durden via submission in his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 204 last March 19th.

He owns a record of 7-0 with two knockouts and three submission wins. He stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 70 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Charles Johnson hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and is a veteran of LFA who also fought under EFL, Gateway Series Fighting, and Fight Hard MMA among others. The 31-year-old joined the UFC just recently and heads to this bout coming off back-to-back KO wins against Joao Antonio Camilo Neto and Carlos Mota.

Johnson is 11-2 with five knockouts and three submission wins. He is a switch hitter who is 5-11 tall with an undisclosed reach.

Johnson is a veteran who has both the experience and the resume to test Mokaev. He has good movement, well-timed strikes, and a nice scramble game. Unlike Mokaev’s previous opponents, Johnson isn’t a guy whom he will take down once and not let stand up until after the fight is over.

But with his tendency to get backed to the fence, Johnson will give Mokaev plenty of opportunities to use his wrestling game. Even if Johnson can avoid getting submitted and is able to get back to his feet, he isn’t going to do enough damage before he gets taken down again. Mokaev’s relentlessness will be the key here.

Prediction: Muhammad Mokaev

Jai Herbert vs Kyle Nelson

Jai Herbert is a former Cage Warriors lightweight champion who also fought under BAMMA. After one successful title defense of the Cage Warriors belt, Herbert joined the UFC in 2020 but I just 1-3 in four UFC bouts. Herbert was knocked out by Ilia Topuria in his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 204 last March 19th.

Herbert is 11-4 with nine knockouts and one submission win. He is an orthodox fighter who is 6-1 tall with a reach of 71 inches.

Kyle Nelson is a former featherweight Champion at Elite 1 MMA. The 31-year-old from Ontario, Canada also fought under RXF and BTC before joining the UFC in 2018. Nelson is just 1-3 inside the UFC Octagon and heads to this bout coming off a KO loss against Billy Quarantillo.

Nelson has a record of 13-4 with five knockouts and four submission wins. He is a switch hitter who is 5-11 tall with a reach of 71 inches.

Herbert’s first four UFC assignments have been brutal but even then, he nearly pulled off the victory in two of them. With all due respect, Nelson is nowhere near the quality of Herbert’s UFC opposition and is a very beatable foe even if he has decent striking and good punching power.

Given Herbert’s six-inch reach advantage, Nelson can’t get in the pocket without tasting Herbert’s fists. Because of that, Nelson will find it hard to implement his wrestling and take advantage of Herbert’s weak wrestling defense. Then Nelson also tends to fade late in fights which should give Herbert plenty of opportunities to land the big punch.

Prediction: Jai Herbert

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