Seems like years since I last did a UFC preview post. Since I last did we've had 2 events, there was a Fight Night in New York where Marlon Moraes knocked out Jimmie Rivera early in the first round and then UFC 225. Robert Whittaker successfully defended his title against Yoel Romero in a really awesome 5 round fight. There was a few other decent fights on that card as well as a complete joke of a fight with CM Punk Vs Mike Jackson.

We move on though and up next the UFC heads back to Singapore which means a different start time than usual. The prelim fights get underway at 9:30am before the main card which kicks off at 1pm.

It's not the most stacked card ever and doesn't really have a fight that would get many people excited but it's only 4 fights and a nice way to get back into writing for me as we lead up to next months super card for UFC 226!

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MAIN EVENT

Donald Cerrone Vs Leon Edwards

We last saw Cowboy just a few months ago when scored an impressive first round knockout over Yancy Medeiros. It was the first win he'd had in over a year after a run of 3 defeats and one that drew him level with GSP and Bisping for most UFC wins. He could break that record with a win against Edwards on Saturday.

Defeating Edwards though will be no easy task. Edwards has a record of 15-3 with 6 knockouts, 3 submissions and 6 decision victories. The first of his 3 defeats came early in his career when he was disqualified for an illegal knee to his opponent. His other 2 defeats have came inside the UFC octagon with decision losses against Kamaru Usman and Claudio Silva.

Since the latest defeat to Usman he has been in some great form picking up 5 victories in a row. His latest came just last March when he finished Peter Sobotta in the 3rd round. Before that he picked up decision wins over Bryan Barberena and Vincente Luque and a 3rd round submission win over Albert Tumenov.

Despite the run of quite impressive victories and his only losses coming against really decent opposition Edwards doesn't have much hype around him. This will obviously all change with a notable victory over Cowboy who is well known all over the world which makes this fight huge for Edwards.

He's been trying to get into Cowboy's head during the build up to this fight calling him old and it seems to have worked as Cowboy has been talking to the media saying how he was pissed. While Edwards is correct this is a young man's game Cowboy proved against Yancy there is still plenty of fight in the old dog.

I can't see either fighter shooting for take downs or wanting to grapple in this one so we should get an exciting striking battle and I give the advantage to Cowboy in that department. Edwards has decent boxing but Cowboy has been in there with some of the best and can finish guys with his fists or his kicks.

Cowboy went on a slump but I believe the beating he took against Till made him realise a few things about how he approached fights and he is seeing the benefits of the changes he made after that. He's got the chance to make history and pull ahead with the most UFC wins and I think he will want to take it.

Prediction - Cowboy to win - Knockout - Round 2

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Ovince Saint Preux Vs Tyson Pedro

We last saw OSP getting choked out by Illir Latifi in the first round of their fight after getting rocked by strikes. It was a pretty brutal loss and ended his run of 3 straight victories. His record is 22-11 and 10-6 in the UFC.

Tyson Pedro is 7-1 with his loss coming also against Latifi only via decision. He has finished all 7 of his victories with 2 knockouts and then 5 submissions. The Latifi loss came in September last year and he has since got back to winning ways by grabbing a first round submission win over Saparbek Safarov in February.

While he is 7-1 with 7 finishes OSP represents a step up in class compared to his other opponents and I think OSP will rebound from his defeat with a comfortable victory. He should manage to stay out of the way of Pedro's big punches, Pedro has a chance if it goes to the ground of getting a submission though I think OSP will keep the fight on the feet for the most part.

Prediction - Saint Preux to win - Decision

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Jessica Rose Clark Vs Jessica Eye

Rose Clark comes into this fight on a 3 fight win streak with 3 decision victories most recently over Paige Vanzant in January. Her record is 9-4 with 1 no contest and has 5 decision wins, 2 submissions and 2 knockouts. All 4 of her defeats have came via decision.

Eye comes in on the back of a win against Kalinfra Faria also in January however had suffered 4 decision losses in a row before that. Her record is 12-6 with 1 no contest and the majority of her fights have gone to the judges scorecards. She has 5 decision losses and has 1 submission loss. 8 of her wins have been via decision, she has 1 submission win and then 3 knockout victories. Although it may be worth noting her only finish in the UFC was actually a doctor stoppage when Leslie Smith's ear was about to fall off, it was officially declared a TKO victory for Eye despite Smith wanting to continue.

I can't really see this been too entertaining and despite sharing the same name as Jessica Rose I am leaning towards Eye for this one. She has been in there against women of a higher level than Clark and has more experience.

Prediction - Eye to win - Decision

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Li Jingliang Vs Daichi Abe

Jingliang finds himself on the main card here despite coming in off a unanimous decision loss to Jake Matthews last time out. I say it's interesting as Matthews also fights in on this card only he is on the prelims.

Before that lost Jingliang had been on a run of 4 victories with 3 knockouts. His overall record is 14-5, the majority of his losses have been via decision with 4 and then he also has 1 submission loss. His victories are split fairly evenly with 5 knockouts and submissions each and 4 decisions. His most recent win was a first round knockout over Zak Ottow but his most notable is probably another first round knockout he got in 2015 against Dhiego Lima.

Diachi Abe has just 2 fights in the UFC and is 1-1 with both going to decision. His overall record is 6-1 and he has 1 other decision victory then his other 4 victories are all via knockout.

Abe seems like a live underdog however Jingliang has not yet been knocked out in his career. You can get 7-1 odds at the bookies for Abe to be the first to do so and while the odds are tempting I think it is more likely to go the other way.

Prediction - Jingliang to win - Knockout - Round 1

There are also 8 prelim fights which I won't cover but may potentially have some decent action. There is some world cup action on Saturday too so I may not watch this event live but I will be sure to record it and catch up with the action before the end of the night.

Please upvote and comment letting me know what you think about these fights and let me know who you thin will win.