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The UFC heads to the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday, February 22, 2020, for UFC Fight Night 186: Felder vs Hooker.
Lightweight contenders Paul Felder and Dan Hooker try to make their case for the next lightweight title fight when they meet at the main event of UFC Fight Night 168. In the co-main event, up and coming Aussie fighter Jimmy Crute tries to bounce back from his first loss against Michal Oleksiejczuk in a light heavyweight scrap.
Before the main card, the UFC has booked seven prelims undercard bouts. We picked out the four prelims bout which makes a lot of betting sense and previewed those fights to help you make your picks for Saturday’s festivities.
Priscilla Cachoeira vs Shana Dobson
Priscilla Cachoeira fought in the regional promotions in her native Brazil before she was signed by the UFC. She debuted at UFC Fight Night 125, losing to Valentina Shevchenko by submission. She is 0-3 in the UFC and 8-3 with four knockouts overall. The 31-year old Brazilian stands 5-7 and has a reach of 65 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Shana Dobson fought at XFO before joining the UFC in 2017. She made her debut at the TUF 27 Finale and got a TKO win over Ariel Beck. Danger has since lost back to back fights and she is coming off a decision loss to Sabina Mazo. Dobson has a record of 3-3 with one knockout. She stands 5-6 tall and has a reach of 69 inches.
Dobson has a four-inch reach advantage here. She isn’t a world-beater or at least that’s what we’ve seen so far. However, she has good boxing skills and has decent punching power. Given that she has more range, she will most probably dominate this fight on the feet. Cachoeira hasn’t shown much inside the octagon except here toughness, grit, and durability. I think Dobson can avoid the Brazilian’s big punches and she should be able to walk away with a clear unanimous decision win here.
Prediction: Shana Dobson
Maki Pitolo vs Takashi Sato
Known as Coconut Bombz, Maki Pitolo is a VFC veteran who appeared in Dana White’s Contender Series, season 3 where he knocked out Justin Sumter inside round one. Pitolo is 5-9 tall and has a reach of 75 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. His record currently stands at 12-5 with six knockouts and three wins by submission. He is coming off a decision loss to Callan Potter.
Takashi Sato fought for Pancrase and Deep Impact before heading to the UFC. He knocked out Ben Saunders in his UFC debut last April 2019 but dropped a decision to Belal Muhamad five months later. Soto is 15-3 with 10 knockouts and 2 submission wins. He is 5-10 tall with a reach of 73 inches and is a southpaw.
Pitolo
+120
Sato
-140
Odds were taken from SportsBetting as of 02/21/20
Pitolo is known for his excellent boxing. He has that variable punch speed that Nick Diaz is most well known for and also has a very good body attack that slows down his opponents. Despite those, he struggled against a grappler in his octagon debut and if he puts on the same performance against Sato, he is isn’t going to survive this bout. Sato has many technical issues and would take too much space to write them all down. But with his punching power, I think he easily gets Pitolo here. I think the Japanese lands a big right hand before Pitolo gets going.
Prediction: Takashi Sato
Loma Lookboonme vs Angela Hill
Thailand’s Loma Lookboonme previously appeared in Invicta FC and Pancrase then joined the UFC late last year. She won her Octagon debut last October 2019, taking a split decision win over Aleksandra Albu. Lookboonme is 5-1 tall with a reach of 61 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Angela Hill is a veteran of the UFC. Overkill is a former World Kickboxing Association champion and Invicta FC strawweight champion. The 33-year old from Maryland has a record of 11-7 with five wins by knockouts. She stands 5-3 tall and has a reach of 64 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Lookboonme
+153
Hill
-178
Odds were taken from SportsBetting as of 02/21/20
This is a tough test for Lookboonme who moved up from atom weight to make her UFC debut at 115. Despite her size disadvantage, she outstruck Aleksandra Albu in that fight and won by split decision. Against Hill, she gives up two inches in height and three inches in reach. Overkill is taking this fight on short notice and she is making a quick turn around after taking out Hannah Cifers less than 30 days ago. I’m a bit hesitant to pick Hill because she had less time to prepare for this opponent. I think Hill has the edge but I’ll take the risk and the plus money on Lookboonme. I think she is going to keep Hill off balance with double legs.
Prediction: Loma Lookboonme
Kai Kara-France vs Tyson Nam
Kai Kara-France was a competitor at The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions where he lost in the quarterfinals to Alexandre Pantoja. Kara-France has a record of 20-8 with 9 knockouts and three submission victories. He stands 5-4 with a reach of 69 inches and is an orthodox fighter. In his last fight at UFC 245, he lost by decision to Brandon Moreno.
Tyson Nam formerly competed for WSOF, Elite XC, and King of the Cage. The 36-year old Hawaiian joined the UFC last year and dropped his first assignment against Sergio Pettis. He stands 5-7 tall and has a reach of 68 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Nam has a record of 18-10-1 with 10 knockouts and 1 submission victory.
Kara-France
-255
Nam
+215
Odds were taken from SportsBetting as of 02/21/20
Kara-France has a one-inch reach advantage but stands three inches shorter than Nam. “Don’t Blink” throws way more punches per fight than the counter-puncher Nam and with his length, he can punch his way to victory here. Nam has a good striking technique and punching power but when he fights, he tends to wait to land his big shots and is often outpointed by his opponent. Kai-Kara France has not been stopped since his third fight so if Nam doesn’t hurt him here, it’s going to be Kara-France on points.
Prediction: Kai Kara-France
