In the evening’s co-necessary match, ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold returns to the octagon for the first time in over three years to face broken-down UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa, who hasn’t competed since October 2021.
Sooner than the August 20, ESPN+ streaming pay-per-scrutinize match, I note at the storylines to occupy a examine on the early prelim fragment of the UFC 278 fight card.
A.J. Fletcher vs. Ange Loosa
A.J. Fletcher used to be a excellent 9-0 with eight stoppage victories when he made his UFC debut. Fletcher misplaced that unblemished document that night in March when he dropped a resolution to Matthew Semelsberger.
The now 9-1 Fletcher is a succesful striker, but with the attain distress he is up in opposition to when he faces Ange Loosa at UFC 278 —seven inches — his greatest course of action can even very properly be to expend his wrestling and strive to capitalize on his heavy prime game. Fletcher had which he had a extensive deal of success with that plot within the first spherical of his bout reverse Semelsberger, racking up 4: 31 of adjust time and limiting his opponent to two landed fundamental strikes.
In April, Loosa celebrated a fight reverse Mounir Lazzez on four day’s scrutinize. He misplaced that bout by unanimous resolution, but he got his foot within the UFC door and he has a paunchy camp within the abet of him heading into his 2nd UFC matchup.
Loosa is an active striker, but his landing price of 41 percent leaves a lot to be desired. In his UFC debut, Loosa landed 88 of 213 attempted fundamental strikes. He desires to provide a boost to his landing price whereas reducing the price of strikes he absorbs (54 percent). One narrate that must relief Loosa in his matchup reverse Fletcher is the aforementioned attain advantage, but he has to tag high-tail he’s connecting and no longer simply throwing if he desires to occupy a likelihood in this scrap.
I foresee a (with a small luck) delectable tactical fight in this matchup.
Francisco Figueiredo vs. Amir Albazi
It’s delectable to occupy a examine warring parties growth. In his loss to Malcolm Gordon in July 2021, I criticized Francisco Figueiredo for his lack of urgency. When the broken-down Jungle Fight bantamweight champ returned to the octagon in April of this one year in opposition to Daniel da Silva, Figueiredo regarded love a assorted fighter.
In that matchup, Da Silva got a small bit sloppy all thru a scamper and Figueiredo quickly capitalized on that carelessness and locked up a monstrous kneebar that brought a speedily tap from his foe, simply 78 seconds into the fight.
The ask I unquestionably occupy going into Figueiredo’s flyweight matchup in opposition to Amir Albazi at UFC 278 is, which fighter is the lawful version of the 32-one year-outdated Brazilian.
Amir Albazi has had small success making it to fight night. He debuted with the UFC in July 2020 with a fundamental-spherical submission take over Malcolm Gordon, but accidents and a visa self-discipline touching on his scheduled opponent stored him from struggling with again except January 2021. He gained his return scrap, but his next two bouts observed accidents — one to him and one to his scheduled adversary — pause within the cancelation of these contests.
Despite his relate of no job and the true fact that he is finest 2-0 contained within the octagon, the 28-one year-outdated, who brings a 14-1 document with him into UFC 278, is the No. 11 ranked fighter within the first price UFC flyweight division.
Albazi is delighted on the UFC stage and he has extensive methodology on his toes moreover to on the bottom. His striking employs impressive feints and impossible velocity, which permits him to be an efficient counter striker.
Fans can even occupy forgotten about Albazi on account of his lack of presence on UFC fight playing cards, but he is a fighter the UFC is rightfully high on and he is one in all the opponents to preserve an peer on at UFC 278.
Aoriqileng vs. Jay Perrin
Aoriqileng dropped from bantamweight to flyweight when he joined the UFC in 2021. The broken-down WLF bantamweight champion misplaced these fights at 125 kilos by technique of resolution. For his third bout with the promotion, Aoriqileng returned to flyweight. The outcome? A first-spherical knockout take. He used to be extremely aggressive in his striking and once he had his opponent in that contest, Cameron Else, in distress, Aoriqileng showed a monstrous ending instinct. Aoriqileng is — wisely — staying at the upper weight for his UFC 248 matchup reverse Jay Perrin.
Perrin had a likelihood to produce a UFC contract in 2019 with an appearance on a Dana White Contender Series card. He misplaced that fight to Dwight Joseph. Neither fighter earned a deal that night. After that setback, Perrin gained the CES bantamweight title in September 2021. That victory got him the different to abet as an extremely gradual replace to face Mario Bautista in February of this one year. For the length of the published of that fight, UFC commentator Jon Anik acknowledged that between the 2nd and third rounds, Perrin “bemoaned to (coach) John Wood, the true fact that he’s losing.”
Perrin had his worst statistical spherical of the three-spherical contest after he made these remarks. In the final five minutes of the contest. He landed a mere four fundamental strikes out of 20 attempted blows and surrendered two takedowns.
Perrin is physically anxious, but with Anik pointing out what went on within the corner between rounds in his UFC debut, I don’t reflect it’s out of line to fear about Perrin’s mental fortitude when issues don’t dart as planned contained within the octagon. With that acknowledged, Perrin can even light fetch an even mountainous pass on the loss to Bautista because it came on short scrutinize, but he desires to change perceptions of himself as a fighter when he suits up in opposition to any individual love Aoriqileng, who enters UFC 278 brimming with self perception.
Daniel Lacerda vs. Victor Altamirano
Here’s what I study about these two: they’ve combined for an 0-3 document within the UFC flyweight division and neither of them occupy registered on my radar in my put up-fight winners and losers columns. With that, the storyline on the UFC 278 curtain jerker is this – will either of these men build anything memorable in Salt Lake Metropolis?