UFC Fight Night 167: Anderson vs Blachowicz 2 Betting Odds and Predictions

The UFC resumes action on February 15, 2020, for UFC Fight Night 167 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

The event will feature a light-heavyweight showdown between Top 6 fighters Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz with the winner possibly becoming the next challenger of Jon Jones. These two fighters previously met at UFC 191 in September 2015 with Anderson winning via unanimous decision. In the co-main event, the original Ultimate Fighter Diego Sanchez takes on Michel Pereira in a welterweight contest.

Let’s take a look at Saturday’s fight card and pick our winners:

Brok Weaver vs Rodrigo Vargas

Brok Weaver is a product of Dana White’s Contender Series. The 28-year old from Alabama stands 6-0 tall and has a reach of 73 inches while fighting out of the southpaw stance. Weaver fought for Atlas Fights and Square Ring Promotions before coming to the UFC. He has a 14-4 record with two knockouts and three submissions. This will be his first UFC bout.

Rodrigo Vargas is a 34-year old Mexican who fought CFL and Combate Americas. Kazula stands 5-8 with a reach of 71 inches while fighting out of the southpaw stance. He has a record of 10-3 with six knockouts and three submission wins. Vargas lost his UFC debut to Alex de Silva Coelho last August 2019.

This will be Weaver’s octagon debut and he has a set of skills that make him dangerous when in top position. Weaver’s story is something that the UFC likes and this is probably the reason why they picked Vargas as his opponent, so he can look good in his first UFC appearance. Vargas fights better on his feet and has an 18-second knockout win in his resume. But he is uncomfortable when someone gets on top of him. Weaver gets on top of Vargas here and he will be controlled. Unless Vargas lands something dramatic, this one is all Weaver.

Prediction: Brok Weaver

Montana De La Rosa vs Mara Romero Borella

Montana De La Rosa is the 12th ranked flyweight in the UFC. The 24-year old appeared in The Ultimate Fighter 26 where she lost in the quarterfinals to Nicco Montano. De La Rosa stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 68 inches. She has a record of 10-5 with 8 submission victories. Mara Romero Borella is the 13th ranked flyweight in the UFC. The 33-year old Italian stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 69 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. She headlined Invicta FC’s Invicta FC 24 where she defeated Milana Dudieva. She has a record of 12-6 with three knockouts and four submission wins.

De La Rosa’s strategy here is obvious. She will want to ground Borella and work her way to a position where she can lock her up in some kind of submission move. De La Rosa has an airtight top game but her striking skills need a lot of polishing and her kickboxing still needs a lot of improvement. Borella is a more balanced fighter. She has a black belt in both Judo and kickboxing. However, I think she is moving too quickly up the ladder and facing much better competition in De La Rosa. I think Borella wants to keep this on her feet and beat De La Rosa as Andrea Lee did. However, I don’t think she has the same striking as Lee and she may prefer to wrestle with De La Rosa instead. That’s a mistake.

Prediction: Montana De La Rosa

Rogerio Bontorin vs Ray Borg

Rogerio Bontorin was featured in the first-ever episode of Dana White’s Contender series where he submitted Gustavo Gabriel Silva. He earned a UFC contract and has since picked up two wins, one by split decision and another a TKO via doctor stoppage. Bontorin stands 5-5 tall and has a reach of 67 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. His record is 16-1 with three knockouts and 11 wins by submission. Ray Borg fought for Legacy Fighting Championships and King of the Cage before coming over to the UFC. He challenged for the UFC flyweight belt at UFC 216 but lost to Demetrious Johnson. Borg has lost two out of its last three fights.

These are two elite grapplers and I expect to see a fast-moving ground battle. These are two technically skilled grapplers who are aggressive on the ground. I expect to see back and forth action here between even combatants. However, I will give the edge to Ray Borg here because he’s fought better opposition and has had plenty of success against elite fighters. I think Borg is the stronger grappler between the two and he is the one who has the better ability to stay out of harm’s way when it comes to getting submitted. I like Borg to get more minutes on top position and that should be enough to give him the win here.

Prediction: Ray Borg

Lando Vannata vs Yancy Medeiros

Lando Vannata is a veteran of Pancrase and RFA and he amassed an 8-0 record before joining the UFC. He is 2-4 with two draws inside the octagon. Vannata stands 5-9 tall with a reach of 71 inches and is an orthodox fighter. His professional MMA record is 10-4 with five knockouts and five submission wins. Vannata only has one win in his last six bouts. Yancy Medeiros was a 7-0 fighter when he joined Strikeforce and fought twice before it folded. Under the UFC banner, Medeiros is 5-7 overall and he has lost his last two fights, both by knockout. Medeiros is 5-10 tall with a reach of 75 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Vannata is very creative when it comes to offense and he uses a lot of head movement which makes him hard to hit. However, he tires rather easily and when he does, he becomes easy to pick apart. Medeiros has the same issue as he is a very hittable opponent. However, if you compare the two, it’s Medeiros who is tougher and can take more damage. Medeiros is also built to fight at a high-pace for three rounds which may cause plenty of problems for Vannata. I think we’re going to see a brawl here and it will be pace and conditioning that will win it for Medeiros.

Prediction: Yancy Medeiros

Michel Pereira vs Diego Sanchez

Michel Pereira fought for Tucuma Fighting Show and Road FC. He joined the UFC in 2018 and defeated Danny Roberts at UFC Fight Night 152 and then lost his second UFC bout to Tristan Connelly. Pereira is 6-1 with a reach of 73 inches and fights as an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 23-10 with 10 knockouts and six submission wins. Diego Sanchez is the original Ultimate Fighter, winning the inaugural edition of the famous tournament. He is one of only three fighters to fight in four different weight classes. Sanchez is 38-years old and has a record of 29-12 with 10 knockouts and 10 submissions wins. He stands 5-10 with a reach of 72 inches and is a southpaw.

These are two entertaining showmen who love to please the crowd in whatever way they can. We know Diego Sanchez to be a guy who likes to brawl and trade punches in the pocket. Pereira has also recorded brawls but against overmatched opponents. This will be a fun fight for as long as it lasts. There isn’t much to analyze here. These men will go at each other right away. But the game-changer for me is Diego’s wrestling. I think Pereira will hurt Sanchez here and force Diego to take this fight to the ground. On the mat, Sanchez is going to tire out his opponent and finish him on the ground. I still think this is 50-50 but I will go with the more experienced fighter here.

Prediction: Diego Sanchez

Corey Anderson vs Jan Blachowicz

Corey Anderson is the 5th ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. Overtime was the light heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Penn vs Team Edgar. Anderson is a former Division III NCAA wrestler. He stands 6-3 tall with a reach of 79 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Anderson has a record of 13-4 with five knockouts. He is coming off an impressive knockout win over Johnny Walker. Jan Blachowicz is the former KSW light heavyweight champion. The 36-year old is the 6th ranked light heavyweight in the UFC and has a record of 25-8 with six knockouts and nine submission wins. He stands 6-2 with a reach of 78 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. Blachowicz heads to this main event with back to back wins over Luke Rockhold and Jacare Souza.

Blachowicz has a steady jab that can control the tempo of the fight. However, I think that Anderson is going to set the pace here as he can move forward and put the pressure on his opponent. Blachowicz isn’t really a knockout artist so expect Anderson to press forward with the action. The American has also developed patience and composure and doesn’t rush things while finding ways to score the victory. Don’t forget that he showed tremendous power and finishing ability when he stopped Walker. He has lost too many big fights already but his win over Walker should be the turning point. I like Corey Anderson here.

Prediction: Corey Anderson

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