UFC St. Louis Preview And Predictions

UFC St. Louis Preview And Predictions

The UFC octagon is heading to St. Louis, Missouri. UFC knockout king and fan favorite Derrick Lewis competes in the main event against Rodrigo Nascimento. The remainder of the card features fascinating matchmaking that will hopefully create fun fights.

Join Vendetta Sports Media as we preview and predict the UFC St. Louis main card. You can find our prediction records below.

James: 49-37

Garrett: 49-37

Jerry: 45-35

Anthony: 49-37

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Robelis Despaigne- Heavyweight Bout

James: The UFC St. Louis main card opens with a heavyweight bout between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Robelis Despaigne. Cortes-Acosta has managed to win unranked heavyweight bouts at a good rate. Thus far into his career, he holds a 4-1 UFC record. Despaigne joined the UFC at 4-0. The Taekwondo Olympic bronze medalist gained hype after several quick finishes on the regional scene. In his only UFC bout, he lived up to his hype with an 18-second knockout against Josh Parisian.

Cortes-Acosta is a former boxer and his MMA style reflects that. The strong point in his game is his ability to put boxing combinations together. The issue is that he does not check leg kicks and his grappling is not great.

Despaigne has a strong combination of size and athleticism. At six-foot-seven, he is extremely athletic. That helps him land knockout shots quickly. That also limits the information we have about his skills. We have no idea when his cardio will dump and his grappling is untested.

The UFC St. Louis main card opener is difficult to preview. The unknowns about Despaigne make it difficult to explain exactly how this fight goes. Ultimately, I will side with Cortes-Acosta. I like siding with his UFC experience. I also think he likely has better cardio and grappling. That said, Despaigne could land an early knockout. I will take Cortes-Acosta by third-round knockout .

Garrett: Despaigne via TKO

Jerry: Despaigne via KO/TKO

Anthony: Despaigne via KO/TKO

No. 15 Alex Caceres vs. Sean Woodson-  Featherweight Bout

James: At UFC St. Louis, Alex Caceres will fight Sean Woodson. Caceres has practically spent his entire MMA career as a UFC fighter. In his promotional tenure, he is 16-12. That includes a 3-2 run in his last five fights. Woodson has earned a shot at the UFC rankings after a 5-1-1 run in the promotion.

Caceres is a long fighter with a strong kicking game. This is because he has a background in traditional MMA. At his best, he uses his length to land impactful strikes on the outside. As a whole, Caceres is not a great grappler; however, he is a slick back-taker and can land submissions.

Woodson is also a long fighter. The difference is that he is much more boxing-oriented. Woodson throws combinations to the head and body. That works well for him because of his length. He can use his reach to rip combinations while his opponent cannot counter. In addition, he has good hand speed for his length.

This is a very interesting matchup because each fighter typically holds a massive reach advantage. In this fight, Woodson will be the longer fighter. Still, either fighter rarely finds a comparable size matchup. As a result, this will be a close fight. I lean toward Woodson because his boxing should help him win close rounds. I will take Woodson by decision .

Garrett: Woodson via decision

Jerry: Woodson via decision

Anthony: Caceres via decision

Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Rebecki- Lightweight Bout

James: At UFC St. Louis, Diego Ferreira will fight Mateusz Rebecki. Ferreira is a 39-year-old with a 9-5 UFC record. All five of those losses have come against ranked competition. Rebecki has looked great throughout his 3-0 UFC run. This bout will be a strong test for the rising up-and-comer.

Ferreira’s best skill is his grappling. On the ground, he is a serious threat to land submissions. Meanwhile, his striking is average. It is not anything special, but he can put his hands together and land punches.

Rebecki is a physical grappler with knockout power. That is a strong combination. Rebecki will walk his opponents down and pressure them with big shots. If he wants, he can land takedowns and work from the top.

I am very interested to see if either fighter proactively grapples. I have a lot of respect for both fighters grappling and believe they could have interesting exchanges on the ground. That said, a grappling-heavy fight would benefit Ferreira. Rebecki’s pressure and power would allow him to land big strikes on a 39-year-old who does not have outstanding durability. As a result, I will take Rebecki by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Rebecki via TKO

Jerry: Rebecki via decision

Anthony: Rebecki via decision

No. 11 Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg- Light Heavyweight Bout

James: The UFC St. Louis feature bout is a fight between Alonzo Menifield and Carlos Ulberg. Menifield is 8-3-1 in the UFC and has been performing well as of late. Ulberg is one of the top prospects in the light heavyweight division. At 5-1 in the promotion, he has slowly earned a shot against a ranked opponent.

This is a fight between two fighters with serious knockout power. The difference is that Ulberg is the more technical of the two. The game plan for Ulberg is to manage range while patiently looking for a knockout shot. Menifield gets more aggressive, but he is more reckless. Menifield is also more likely to implement grappling or cage control to win rounds.

This UFC St. Louis bout previews to be a close fight. At the same time, each fighter has the power to land a knockout shot. In striking exchanges, I prefer to take the more technical fighter. Menifield’s grappling upside could eventually negate that, however. Still, I have to lean toward Ulberg. I will take Ulberg by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Ulberg via TKO

Jerry: Ulberg via decision

Anthony: Ulberg via KO/TKO

No. 11 Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev- Welterweight Bout

James: The UFC St. Louis co-main event features a welterweight bout between Joaquin Buckley and Nursulton Ruziboev. Buckley is a native of St. Louis and lobbied to fight on this card. Eventually, the UFC gave him a fight against Ruziboev. That choice of opponent was a shock. Buckley is 3-0 since dropping down to welterweight. The highlight of that run was a win over Vicente Luque which allowed him to break into the rankings . What’s interesting is that Ruziboev is dropping from middleweight to welterweight for this fight. That is surprising considering he has a UFC record of 2-0 in the higher weight class.

Buckley is an explosive striker with knockout power. In boxing exchanges, he throws from a variety of angles. Furthermore, he attacks the head and body. Buckley deserves respect for adding to his grappling. Throughout his UFC career, he has consistently improved his wrestling. At this point, that skill is strong enough to help him mix up his offensive attack.

Ruziboev will be comically big for the welterweight division. At six-foot-four, he is tall and he has a 76-inch reach. It is hard to make strong claims about his skills, however. Ruziboev fought a low level of competition on the regional scene and has yet to go to the second round in the UFC.

The UFC St. Louis co-main event previews to be an interesting bout. It is a strange fight to call. In my opinion, Buckley is much more proven against UFC-level talent; however, his biggest flaw is dealing with long fighters. That’s why he dropped down a weight class. Ruziboev is less proven, but he has the length to cause Buckley issues. Still, I lean toward Buckley. The main reason is that I don’t trust Ruziboev if he does not finish the fight early. I will take Buckley by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Ruziboev via decision

Jerry: Buckley via KO/TKO

Anthony: Buckley via KO/TKO

No. 12 Derrick Lewis vs. No. 15 Rodrigo Nascimento- Heavyweight Bout

James: The UFC St. Louis main event is a heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento. Lewis is a fan favorite because of his personality and knockout prowess. At 39, he is getting closer to the end of his career. It does not help that he is 1-4 in his last five fights. On the flip side, Nascimento is 4-1 with a no contest in the UFC. The catch is that Lewis has been fighting ranked competition while Nascimento has fought below-average opponents.

The standout trait throughout Lewis’ career has been his power. “The Black Beast” holds the UFC knockout record with 14. At UFC 291, Lewis showed he still has electric knockout power . It should also be noted that Lewis has made a considerable effort to get into better shape and enter the cage in much better physical condition.

Nascimento has shown interesting striking and grappling skills. On the feet, he throws a lot of straight shots. The jab and straight are both impactful. The issue is that his striking gets sloppy when he throws hooks. On the ground, he has fine grappling skills. I would not claim he is an elite grappler, but he has shown grappling upside.

The UFC St. Louis main event previews to favor Lewis. The power threat from Lewis will help him a lot in this fight. If Nascimento gets aggressive, Lewis will have opportunities to land big strikes. It is also difficult to grapple Lewis because opponents have to be careful with their entries. Plus, Lewis has underrated grappling defense. The fighters that have out-grappled him are better grapplers than Nascimento. Over the course of five rounds, I expect Lewis to find a knockout blow. I will take Lewis by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Nascimento via TKO

Jerry: Lewis via KO/TKO

Anthony: Lewis via KO/TKO

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