It’s a real testament to the magnitude of UFC 200 when you look at the prelims. Seven fights total including two former champions leave these prelims as perhaps the most stacked preliminary card of all time. If you plan on watching the UFC 200 PPV, definitely don’t miss the prelims.
Fight Pass Prelims
Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi
Starting off the action is a salvo of three fights only available on UFC Fight Pass. It all opens up with a bout between Jim Miller and Takanori Gomi. They’re both veterans of the game with an astonishing 81 bouts combined fights between them. With their better days behind them and two-fight losing streaks common between them, you can expect both to pull out all the stops. Gomi was at one point a very feared lightweight slugger. Now, Gomi appears to be quite fragile and way past his prime. Miller on the other hand has struggled pulling the trigger and overcoming adversity. At his core though, Miller’s a fundamentally-sound grappler with skillful southpaw striking. Gomi will have a puncher’s chance (as he usually does in every fight), but Miller is the smart pick here.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Thiago Santos
Next up is one of my personal favorites of the night as Gegard Mousasi meets Thiago Santos. Mousasi has always been a guy with the talent to become champion, but he has lacked some certain x-factors to get him there. Thiago Santos on the other hand is a bright up-and-coming middleweight who could very well be champion if he continues to improve at the rate he is. Mousasi will always be known for his accurate ground-and-pound. This is accentuated by his crafty clinchwork, and highly articulate striking game.
Mousasi’s biggest fault comes in his failure to pull the trigger; something Santos has no problem with. We saw Mousasi face a deadly striker in Uriah Hall, and succumb to a highlight reel KO. Santos is very capable of doing the same thing, but doesn’t quite have the element of surprise that Hall did. Santos is more straight-forward than Hall is, which is why it’s more likely for Mousasi to pick up the expected victory here. However, with the power that Santos has, don’t rule out a big upset.
Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez
The UFC 200 prelims on Fight Pass close out with a bloodlusting match up between Joe Lauzon and Diego Sanchez. Both men have established themselves as must-see entertaining with 20 post-fight bonuses between them. Much like the Miller/Gomi match up, it’s safe to say that both men have had their best days behind them. Lauzon was recently out-boxed by Evan Dunham, and appears to still struggle against fighters he can’t take down. While Sanchez’s grappling skills are criminally underrated, Lauzon is a guy who can capitalize on any mistake. While Sanchez has tightened up his movement and now is willing to attack on angles, his never-say-die attitude can lead him into making these mistakes.
Lauzon is a mastermind on the ground, and if the fight ever goes there you can expect him to hold a big advantage. Meanwhile, Sanchez will look to overwhelm Joe with forward pressure and his brawling instincts. I didn’t like how much Lauzon shyed away from shots in his last fight; that makes me think Sanchez could have great success overwhelming a tentative Lauzon. But assuming Joe can stay smart and mobile on the feet he can lull Sanchez into making some mistakes, and get the fight to the mat. From there, it should be all Lauzon. This is a very interesting fight between two of the most respected lightweights. Don’t miss these UFC 200 prelims on Fight Pass!
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Sage Northcutt vs. Enrique Marin
Opening up the UFC 200 prelims on Fox Sports 1 is the return of young fighting sensation Sage Northcutt. This is an interesting one because we’ll get to see how Northcutt bounces back after tasting defeat for the first time. Not only did he lose to the better fighter in Bryan Barberena, but he heavily criticized afterwards for having a lack of heart. Now, he faces 0-1 UFC competitor Enrique Marin. Marin, hailing from Spain, is primary a grappler who lost to Erick Montano in his UFC debut.
Because of Northcutt’s inexperience, the thought of him losing again to a bottom-tier fighter at the moment is not unreasonable. However, much of the pressure has been lifted off him this time around. Northcutt has athletic advantages like no one else, and can just about win a fight with them alone. Northcutt’s all round game is what is slowly getting glued together, and we’re going to see the newest form of Northcutt Friday night.
TJ Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao
Yet another testament to this card’s magnititude is seeing former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who is just one fight removed from being the champion, on the prelims. Nevertheless, he has some unfinished business in this fight against Raphael Assuncao. These two met back in 2013 which resulted in the Brazilian picking up a heavily contested split decision victory. Since then, TJ went on to become the champion and won four straight before losing to Dominick Cruz. Assuncao only picked up two wins, and was far less active.
This is probably the easiest fight to predict because we saw how even they matched up against each other in the first fight. Since then, TJ has improved leaps and bounds – enough to dethrone Renan Barao and become the champion. Assuncao however has been relatively inactive, and didn’t have any wow’ing performances. Raphael remains a grapple-first fighter, who possesses some functional muay thai skills. It was enough to defeat Dillashaw three years ago, but now TJ has a far more complex and sound tool kit. Unless TJ forgets how to fight, or dramatically overlooks Assuncao, you can count on Dillashaw getting revenge.
Johny Hendricks vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Another former champion gets featured here on the UFC 200 prelims on Fox Sports 1. Johny Hendricks, who was dethroned in 2014, will desperately try to cling on to his welterweight status as he meets Kelvin Gastelum. The last year has been plagued with unfortunate mistakes on Hendricks’s part. Gastelum has a similar story to Hendricks, but without holding a belt. Gastelum was picked by many to be a future title challenger, but poor weight cuts and a couple lazy performances have left that idea in jeopardy.
These two also have fairly similar fighting styles. They’re both short, stocky wrestlers capable of standing in the pocket and trading with the best of them. The same athleticism that makes them skilled wrestlers has also made them threatening on the feet. However, tactical errors have been the root cause for much of their losses, and it’ll be interesting to see if that plays itself in this fight. At a glance, Hendricks is the obvious pick because of his experience, but he also seems to bring in a little more variety to his style. We saw Gastelum struggle to come up with an answer against Neil Magny other than takedowns and long-range bombs. Hendricks is all too familiar with these weapons, and should have enough in his tool kit to stay ahead of Gastelum.
Cat Zingano vs. Julianna Pena
Prepared to cap off the UFC 200 prelims is a very intriguing women’s bantamweight scrap. It has been about 18 months we saw Zingano tap out in just 14 seconds to Ronda Rousey. One can only imagine Zingano has taken this time to mentally recover, and hopefully improve upon her already-impressive skills. Julianna Pena is a very serious test for her though, and possesses rare tenacity. Both Zingano and Pena are well-rounded, and have most of their success overwhelming their opponents with multi-faceted aggression. Zingano holds a very distinct physical advantage though; she’s huge for the weight class, and uses her size well to overpower opponents in grappling situations. A known slow starter, Zingano operated best in the second and third rounds while Pena is more consistent. This is a very intriguing fight that could turn into chaos pretty quick. Do not miss this prelim headliner!
