UFC San Diego Preview and Predictions

UFC San Diego Preview and Predictions

The UFC octagon will be headed to the beaches of San Diego, Calif. for UFC San Diego on Saturday, Aug. 13. The 13-fight card and six-fight main card will include a collection of UFC veterans, prospects, and debutants. In total, UFC San Diego will feature three ranked fighters, two of which will fight in the main event while the other is buried on the prelims. The prelims will begin at 4 p.m. EST followed by the main card at 10 p.m. EST. Both cards will air on ESPN and ESPN+. I am joined by Garrett Burroughs as we preview and predict each fight on the main card. Below are our updated predictions.

James: 17-14

Garrett: 20-11

Bruno Silva vs Gerald Meerschaert- Middleweight

James: Bruno Silva and Gerald Meerschaert will open the main card of UFC San Diego. Silva is trying to rebound after dropping his last bout against surging contender Alex Pereira. Before his fight with Pereira, Silva was on a seven-fight win streak. In this stretch, Silva finished every fight by KO or TKO — three of those bouts were UFC fights. Meerschaert has been in the UFC since 2016. He has been a workhorse in the promotion, boasting a 9-7 record. The majority of the seven losses came to legit fighters like Thiago Santos, Khamzat Chimaev, Jack Hermansson, and Kevin Holland, to name a few. Meerschaert has performed well as of late going 3-1 in his last four bouts.

In this fight, the two most likely outcomes are a Silva knockout win or a Meerschaert submission victory. As previously mentioned, Silva holds a lot of knockout power. The impressive thing is that his power translates well to ground and pound as well. He can put his opponent out cold on the feet or the ground. Meanwhile, Meerschaert is a high-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt. Of his nine UFC wins, eight have come via submission. In my opinion, the difference in this fight will be the chin of Meerschaert and the ground and pound of Silva. Meerschaert has been knocked out in the past. The most notable and recent of these knockouts was when Chimaev knocked him out in 17 seconds. In addition, if he attempts to pull guard, Silva will have opportunities to land ground and pound shots. Plus, he has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt of his own that will also help. Whether he gets it done on the feet or the ground, I will take Silva by first-round knockout.

Garrett: Silva via submission

Priscila Cachoeira vs Ariane Lipski- Women’s Bantamweight

James: The bout between Priscila Cachoeira and Ariane Lipski was originally scheduled for UFC Vegas 59 last week but was postponed after Lipski missed weight. The fight will now take place at women’s bantamweight rather than flyweight. Aside from that, this fight projects the same. For that reason, the preview and predictions will be taken from last week’s post.

Lipski is one of the more well-known unranked fighters in the flyweight division, but she is 3-4 in the UFC. This fight is an example of good matchmaking as Cachoeira has the same record. This bout will greatly affect the career of each fighter, with the winner having a chance at fighting back into the ranking while the loser inches closer to getting cut.

From a stylistic standpoint, Lipski will be the more technical striker as she has tremendous Muay Thai. She will also strike at a higher volume. On the other side, Cachoeira will be the more powerful striker. This fight will come down to whether or not Lipski can stay away from the powerful hands of Cachoeira. Thankfully, she should be able to utilize her front kicks to help manage the distance. With those aspects in mind, I will take Lipski by decision.

Garrett: Lipski via decision

Devin Clark vs Azamat Murzakanov- Light Heavyweight

James: Devin Clark is coming back down to the light heavyweight division after defeating William Knight. His opponent will be Azamat Murzakanov, one of the best prospects in the light heavyweight division. Murzakanov is older than the typical prospect at 33 years old, however, he is young in MMA years with only 11 fights on his resume. In the 11 fights, he is a perfect 11-0 with eight knockouts and one submission — one of those knockouts occurred in the UFC. Meanwhile, Clark is 13-6 in MMA with a UFC record of 7-6. It’s not the best record, but he has faced tough UFC competition. Of his six losses, four were against currently ranked fighters. Essentially, Clark loses to elite competition while beating nearly everyone else. That makes him a great opponent for Murzakanov as this fight should tell us if he is legit.

This fight will come down to how well Clark can utilize his wrestling. In theory, he will have a large advantage in that department. If he can get takedowns, he can negate Murzakanov’s striking which is quick and powerful. Despite both fighters being light heavyweights, Clark will also be considerably bigger in the octagon. If he can land a takedown that size will make Murzakanov work if he wants to get back to his feet. If he is able to stand back up, he will eventually fatigue. I will take Clark by decision.

Garrett: Murzakanov by decision

Yazmin Jauregui vs Iasmin Lucindo- Women’s Strawweight

James: I have no idea when the last time a UFC main card featured a bout between two debuting women’s strawweight fighters. It has to have been a long time ago. With that being said, I don’t hate it. Both Yazmin Jauregui and Iasmin Lucindo seem to have high ceilings in the UFC. Lucindo is the younger of the pair at 20 years old. On the regional scene, she went 13-4. That record would not jump off the page for most fighters, but for Lucindo it does. Having 17 professional fights at 20 is nearly unheard of, but Lucindo made her professional MMA debut at just 14 years old. Those four losses on Lucindo’s record came from 2017 to 2019 — all before her 18th birthday. I will not hold those against how.

The elder Jauregui is only 23. In her time on the regional scene, she went 8-0. Three of these fights came at Combate Global: Last Latina Standing where she defeated three women in one night to be named tournament winner. She finished two of these fights via knockout.

This fight will be a stylistic clash. Jauregui would be best described as a boxer while Lucindo is a grappler. Most specifically, Jauregui throws solid boxing combos, and she holds a lot of power in her hands. While boxing is certainly her bread and butter, she also has a good array of kicks. Lucindo excels at controlling position and landing ground and pound, but she does not have great takedowns. If she can land a couple of takedowns, it will be a long night for Jauregui. This is a hard fight to call. Both fighters will be the other’s toughest test by a mile as neither fighter has fought elite competition. From what I have seen thus far, I have more confidence in Jauregui’s ability to counter grapple than Lucindo’s striking. I will take Jauregui by decision.

Garrett: Lucindo by decision

Nate Landwehr vs David Onama- Featherweight

James: Nate Landwehr and David Onama will feature in the co-main event of UFC San Diego in a bout that screams fight of the night. Onama is one of the more promising young fighters in the featherweight division, with a record of 10-1 in MMA and 2-1 in the UFC. The one loss came in a short-notice bout against Mason Jones at lightweight. Landwehr, meanwhile, has gone 2-2 in the UFC. In his career, the 34-year-old has been more than willing to put on a show, win or lose. All four of his UFC fights have been highly competitive brawls or they ended via finish.

This fight should be fun. I anticipate that both men will come in looking to throw heavy shots on the feet. In that type of fight, Onama is much quicker and more powerful. Plus, both of Landwehr’s UFC losses have come via knockout. If Landwehr finds himself in trouble, he may look to his wrestling. Onama’s takedown defense has yet to be tested by a wrestler of Landwehr’s caliber. Even though he should, I doubt Landwehr will look to use his wrestling as he traditionally opts not to. Because of that, I will take Onama by second-round knockout.

Garrett: Onama via TKO

#5 Marlon Vera vs #8 Dominick Cruz- Bantamweight

James: The UFC San Diego main event has massive ties to the city. Dominick Cruz currently trains out of San Diego at Alliance MMA which is one of the best MMA gyms. Cruz is a legend of MMA and arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time. Cruz is a former UFC champion and was the WEC champion before the UFC added the lighter weight classes. In total, he defended the UFC belt three times and the WEC belt twice. He accomplished all of this while constantly facing major injuries. At 24-3, is it hard to call Cruz anything but a legend. However, at 37 years old there are questions about how much the legend has left in the tank.

Across the cage from Cruz will be Marlon “Chito” Vera. Vera also has a massive amount of MMA experience. The difference is Vera has slowly but consistently progressed to become one of the best fighters in the world, and it seems like he has reached that potential. Vera is 21-7-1 in MMA and 13-6 in the UFC. However, he has won three straight fights. If you want to extend his record further, he is 4-1 in his last five, including wins over Rob Font, Sean O’Malley, and Frankie Edgar.

At this point, the future of the bantamweight division is up in the air. At UFC 280, Aljamain Sterling will fight TJ Dillashaw, while O’Malley fights Petr Yan. This creates a lot of flux in the division. The bout between Vera and Cruz may not be a No. 1 contender’s bout but it will influence future title conversations.

In the fight, each fighter has a clear path to victory which makes this a hard fight to call. On the feet, Cruz will look to utilize his elite movement and footwork to hit Vera while avoiding shots. Meanwhile, Vera will hunt power shots while trotting forward. On the ground, Cruz is a good wrestler, but Vera has good submissions off his back. At the same time, that is not a good way to win a decision. He lost to Jose Aldo because Aldo was able to control position on top and win rounds. Overall, Cruz will win this fight if he pitches a perfect game defensively while throwing in high volume and landing takedowns. I think Cruz could accomplish that, but it is a tall task. If he pulls it off, it would be special. I think it is more realistic that Vera lands multiple power shots a round while dealing out a lot of damage. I will take Vera by decision.

Garrett: Cruz via decision

*All records and fighter information via Tapology*

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