Predictions! UFC 297 Early ‘Prelims’ Preview – Pt. 2

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing more “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) when UFC 297: “Strickland vs. Du Plessis” storms Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC 297 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.

Two (bad?) title fights anchor the long-awaited Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) return to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this weekend (Sat., Jan 20, 2024) when Sean Strickland defends his Middleweight belt against Dricus Du Plessis and Mayra Bueno Silva meets Raquel Pennington for Amanda Nunes’ vacated women’s Bantamweight belt. UFC 297’s pay-per-view (PPV) main card will also feature Chris Curtis’ Middleweight showdown with fellow slugger Marc-Andre Barriault and a potential title eliminator at Featherweight that sees Arnold Allen attempt to rebound from defeat against Movsar Evloev.

Four UFC 297 “Prelims” undercard bouts remain to be examined (checkout the first batch here), so strap in and let’s get digging …

135 lbs.: Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield

Brad Katona (15-2) followed his The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27-winning decision over Jay Cuccinello by beating Matthew Lopez, only to then drop two straight and receive his walking papers. Four straight wins in BRAVE CF earned him a spot on TUF 31, where he took out Carlos Vera and Timur Valiev in the house before gritting his way past Cody Gibson in his Octagon return.

He gives up nearly a half-foot of reach to Garrett Armfield (9-3).

Armfield’s short-notice UFC debut pitted him against old amateur foe, David Onama, who snapped Armfield’s three-fight win streak with a second round arm-triangle choke. Assorted issues kept him out of action for the next 13 months, after which he knocked out Toshiomi Kazama for his first Octagon win.

Eight of his nine professional wins have come inside the distance, six of them via knockout.

Armfield is very much a live dog in this matchup. Katona’s fight with Gibson showed some serious defensive flaws that the former has yet to address. Armfield’s heavy hands shouldn’t have too difficult a time finding their target — and as we saw against Kazama — he doesn’t need that many openings to shut the lights off.

What that Gibson fight also showed, however, is Katona’s durability and grit. They carried him past a better fighter than Armfield in Valiev and should do the same here, especially since Armfield’s takedown defense isn’t impenetrable. In short, Katona walks through some heavy artillery to steadily wear down Armfield and walk away with the win.

Prediction: Katona via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson

Charles Jourdain (15-6) saw the first two-fight win streak of his UFC career give way to back-to-back losses against Shane Burgos and Nathaniel Wood. Undeterred, “Air” went on to beat Kron Gracie and Ricardo Ramos in 2023, the latter via bonus-winning guillotine.

His 13 professional finishes are split 8:5 between knockouts and submissions.

Sean Woodson (10-1-1) punched his UFC ticket with a highlight-reel flying knee of Terrance McKinney on Contender Series. “The Sniper” currently sits at 4-1-1 in the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA), most recently out-classing late replacement Dennis Buzukja in Aug. 2023.

He’ll enjoy five inches of height and nine inches of reach on Jourdain.

Am I crazy for thinking Woodson has a real shot here? That’s a gargantuan reach advantage at his disposal and he knows how to use it. Sure, he’s had some rough fights and doesn’t have the strongest body of work, but Jourdain’s never been particularly consistent in the Octagon. I can absolutely see Woodson pot-shotting his way to victory.

Jourdain is unquestionably the more likely of the two to score a finish — he’s got the heavier hands and Woodson’s draw with Luis Saldana proved his chin can be cracked. His guillotine is also a potent counter to Woodson’s newfound willingness to wrestle. Still, odds are he’s going to give Woodson the striking match “The Sniper” wants and that length looks like too big a hurdle for him. In the end, Woodson out-lands Jourdain and survives a rough patch or two to claim a narrow decision.

Prediction: Woodson via split decision

135 lbs.: Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras

A five-fight win streak saw Serhiy Sidey (10-1) win BFL’s Bantamweight belt, defend it three times, and win BTC’s belt along the way. Then came Contender Series, where he finished Ramon Taveras (9-2) via early stoppage, but nonetheless walked away with a contract.

He sports a three-inch height advantage and a two-inch reach advantage.

Three straight stoppages carried Taveras to Contender Series, where he missed weight and subsequently fell to Sidey in controversial fashion. He picked himself up and returned to the program less than one month later, crushing the favored Cortavious Romious in a brisk 29 seconds.

He’s knocked out five professional foes and submitted three others.

Taveras was unquestionably giving Sidey the business in the opening minutes of their first fight. He’s the heavier-handed of the two by a clear margin and his counters are an excellent means to punish Sidey’s occasional defensive lapses. Unfortunately for “The Savage,” he was undone by the same factors that will undo him here: Sidey’s durability and experience.

Sidey was able to survive long enough to draw out and counter Taveras’ favored counter left — and even though the stoppage was most definitely bogus — the fact that Taveras went down at all suggests that Sidey has the better chin between them. Add that to Sidey’s more battle-tested cardio and things look rough for Taveras if he can’t find the early finish. In short, Sidey weathers the storm long enough to once again find the opening he needs and put Taveras down for good.

Prediction: Sidey via second round technical knockout

125 lbs.: Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana

Gillian Robertson (12-8) worked her way out of a 1-3 skid with back-to-back submissions of Mariya Agapova and Piera Rodriguez, earning her first UFC bonus in the process. The momentum wasn’t to last, as Tabatha Ricci halted her run via unanimous decision in Jacksonville.

The 10 professional finishes for “The Savaged” include nine submissions.

Polyana Viana (13-6) went from losing three straight to winning three of her next four by first round finish, two of which earned “Performance of the Night.” Her next bout pitted her against top prospect Iasmin Lucindo, who handed Viana her second submission defeat via second round arm-triangle choke.

She boasts a four-inch reach advantage over Robertson.

There is an obvious path to victory for Robertson, namely taking down Viana and dominating from the top like Lucindo did. She’s more than capable of it because while Viana’s dangerous off of her back, I can’t imagine her catching a grappler of Robertson’s caliber unaware.

As always, though, the question is whether Robertson will follow that obvious path. She can be bizarrely reluctant to use her wrestling even when it’s the obvious solution, and considering that Viana does pack a punch, hesitation could easily mean defeat here. Still, there’s too much going her way for me to pick an upset. When the dust settles, she exploits Viana’s poor takedown defense to grind her down and ultimately find her neck.

Prediction: Robertson via third round submission

Hopefully, this whole mess of a saga will finally be over. See you Saturday, Maniacs.

Current Prediction Record for 2024: 5-2

---

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 297 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNEWS at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 297: “Strickland vs. Du Plessis” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.