Jessica Eye vs. Cynthia Calvillo preview and predictions

Derrick Santistevan

TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 8: Jessica Eye of the United States commemorates triumph versus Katlyn Chookagian of the United States in a flyweight bout throughout the UFC 231 event at Scotiabank Arena on December 8, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Image by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Preview and predictions for UFC Vegas 2: Jessica Eye vs. Cynthia Calvillo.

One week after Amanda Nunes extended her run as rather perhaps the best women’s Mixed Martial Arts fighter of perpetuity, the UFC returns to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV, with another women’s main event — this time at flyweight featuring former title challenger Jessica Eye and division debutant Cynthia Calvillo at UFC Vegas 2.

Eye will come into this bout off a decision win over Viviane Araujo at UFC 245. After winning just one of seven fights at bantamweight to start her UFC run, and over a year away from the Octagon, Eye won three straight decisions at flyweight before falling short in a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 238.

Calvillo will make her first appearance at 125 pounds here. She enters on a three-fight unbeaten streak and battled Marina Rodriguez to a majority draw at UFC Washington D.C. in her last bout, but Calvillo missed the strawweight limit in two of her last three bouts.

The evening’s co-main event features a middleweight battle between Karl Roberson and Mavin Vettori. The pair were scheduled to meet last month at the May 13 UFC Jacksonville event, but the fight was scrapped after Roberson fell ill after missing weight. This resulted in a heated confrontation at the fighters’ hotel on the day the fight was supposed to take place.

Other fighters on the main card include Ray Borg, Andre Fili and Merab Dvalishvili. Prelim fighters include Kevin Aguilar, Gina Mazany, Jordan Griffin and more.

This article will look at the UFC Vegas 2 main card bouts and attempt to select a winner from each.

Jessica Eye vs. Cynthia Calvillo preview and prediction

Jessica Eye took a year away from the Octagon after going 1-5 (1 NC) to start her UFC run, where she competed at bantamweight due to the UFC having no flyweight division for women. Joining upon its creation, however, Eye raked up wins over Kalindra Faria, Jessica-Rose Clark and Katlyn Chookagian before unsuccessfully challenging Valentina Shevchenko for UFC gold at UFC 238. Eye successfully returned with a win over Viviane Araujo at UFC 245 but missed weight by five pounds.

Cynthia Calvillo had quite the rookie rise when first arriving in the UFC in 2017 but a loss to Carla Esparza snapped her undefeated record and ended in a USADA suspension. Calvillo has since scored wins over Poliana Botelho and Cortney Casey and drew against Marina Rodriguez, but she missed the strawweight limit twice in those last three fights.

The Tale of the Tape has Eye coming into this fight with two-inch advantages in both height and reach. Per FightMetrics, Calvillo holds a small edge on the feet offensively, while the 2 are near even in their strikingdefense The ground game, on the other hand, is a big benefit for Calvillo, the jiu-jitsu and wrestling professional, who usually gets at least 2 takedowns and a submission effort per 15 minutes. It must be kept in mind that Eye has excellent takedown defense in her own right, nevertheless, and has some ground abilities to endure must the battle enter that instructions.

Eye’s fortunes have actually appeared to alter a fair bit given that moving down to 125, however Calvillo is an up-and- coming possibility in thisgame On the flip, Eye is a former title opposition and that provides a hard obstacle for Calvillo– in truth, the only battle she’s ever dropped protested the inaugural UFC strawweight champ. For Calvillo, this provides a chance to score a substantial win and solve into the title image of a brand-new division while likewise not eliminating her body a lot to make weight. On that note, do not let Eye’s weight miss out on from last time slip by. She’s stated it was a no-excuse bad weight cut and for her sake, the very same thing much better not take place here.

Calvillo’s not going to be simple for Eye either; it’s one that can go in either case, however Eye’s experience might assist get her a small edge over Calvillo.

Forecast: Eye by means of consentaneous decision

Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori preview and forecast

After making a UFC agreement by knocking out Ryan Spann in 15 seconds on Dana White’s Competitor Series (DWCS), Karl Roberson has actually gone 4-2 inside the Octagon– trading wins and losses prior to entering this battle on a two-fight win streak. He most just recently contended at UFC Moscow in November, where he sent Roman Kopylov.

Likewise, Marvin Vettori went 2-2-1 to start his UFC run– consisting of a questionable split decision loss to existing middleweight champ Israel Adesanya– however likewise enters this one off 2 straight wins. Vettori most just recently contended at UFC Tampa, beating Andrew Sanchez by decision.

According to FightMetrics, Roberson has a small one-inch edge on Vettori in height, however otherwise are comparable in size. Vettori lands more substantial strikes per minute; nevertheless, it’s Roberson who is the much better protector by the numbers in contrast, and Roberson is a little more precise with his shots. Vettori is a little ahead in typical takedowns and has actually stopped 80 percent of the takedowns tried versus him, however Roberson has a bit much better of a takedown precision.

While Vettori is the more youthful fighter in this fight, he’s likewise the more experienced when it concerns Mixed Martial Arts (Roberson has actually had kickboxing bouts outside of Mixed Martial Arts). Vettori comes off as the more total fighter, while Roberson has more strength– and if Vettori isn’t cautious and enters the battle with excessive fire, Roberson might drop him with among those strikes. It’ll likewise be fascinating to see how Roberson fares with his weight cut and how it impacts him. If he missed out on weight and fell ill simply last month, what could this month bring– particularly when we saw Tony Ferguson cut weight two times in a brief quantity of time and lose his UFC 249 main event with Justin Gaethje?

Forecast: Vettori by means of consentaneous decision

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Ray Borg preview and forecast

After being found through Dana White’s Lookin’ for a Battle series, Merab Dvalishvili dropped his first 2 bouts inside the Octagon. The Serra-Longo Battle Team item has given that won 3 directly, most just recently besting Casey Kenney at UFC Rio Rancho in February.

Considering that losing a flyweight title bout to Demetrious Johnson, Ray Borg has actually gone 2-2 and had his share of battles to make weight. Borg contended at last month’s Might 13 UFC Jacksonville card, dropping a decision to Ricky Simon.

The Tale of the Tape on FightMetrics has Dvalishvili with a two-inch height benefit and five-inch reach edge. Mathematically, Dvalishvili lands more substantial strikes usually, however Borg is effectively the more determined striker and slicker protector. Naturally, Dvalishvili’s game is on the mat– the guy averages 7.8 takedowns per 15 minutes. Borg lands 3 or 4 generally in a battle and both men have comparable precisions, however Dvalishvili is likewise proficient at stopping the takedowns that come at him.

Working under Greg Jackson, Borg has good striking and some exceptional wrestling abilities in his own right. Dvalishvili, nevertheless, is a takedown artist and his expert-level wrestling and Sambo might be too frustrating for Borg to manage.

Forecast: Dvalishvili by means of consentaneous decision

Andre Fili vs. Charles Jourdain preview and forecast

While Fili is a veteran of Mixed Martial Arts, he’s been not able to string 3 wins together given that signing up with the UFC in2013 He’ll enter this contest off a consentaneous decision loss to Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 246.

Jourdain, a former TKO featherweight and interim light-weight champ, dropped a decision to Des Green in his UFC debut in 2015 however rebounded with a second-round finish of Doo Ho Choi at UFC Busan in December.

Fili will have the size benefit here, per FightMetrics, holding a two-inch edge in height and five-inch edge in reach. The rest won’ t be as equivalent, nevertheless, with the mega distinctions in between Fili and Jourdain in regards to UFC battles. What is worth keeping in mind about Jourdain, nevertheless, is that his 2 losses are the only 2 times he’s seen the final bell– every win for him up until now has actually been a finish, often in ravaging style. And for as effective as his striking is, a few of his more current success came when he secured a choke. Jourdain likewise shows a strong chin and heart.

The important things is, nevertheless, Fili has some excellent wrestling and he is just 29 years of ages and currently contended versus some extremely difficult competition in his time. Fili is regularly irregular in his battle efficiencies, however he hasn’t been dropped in about 4 years and has the ability to grind out decision wins.

Watch on this battle as a sleeper and watch out on Jourdain, however anticipate the knowledgeable Fili to come out on top.

Forecast: Fili by means of consentaneous decision

Jordan Espionsa vs. Mark De La Rosa preview and forecast

After sending Nick Urso and completing Riley Dutro in 2 various seasons of DWCS, Jordan Espinosa had an effective UFC debut versus Eric Shelton at UFC Nashville in 2015 however has actually given that dropped back-to-back contests versus Matt Schnell and Alex Perez.

Jordan De La Rosa dropped his UFC debut to Tim Elliott prior to scoring wins over Elias Garcia and Joby Sanchez. De La Rosa, nevertheless, goes into off 3 straight losses to Perez, Kai Kara-France and Raulian Paiva.

Per FightMetrics, Espinosa is 5 years older than his opponent and has a four-inch reach benefit. Espionsa, who has some kickboxing in his collection, is definitely the much better striker, though their striking defense portions are comparable. The grappling department is much more even, though Espinosa still holds a small benefit.

This is a fight of 2 contenders who are having a hard time and both frantically need a win– this might effectively be a “Loser Leaves Town” type of affair. Espinosa was a wrestler in college and it might assist him versus the jiu-jitsu abilities De La Rosa might bring. At that point, with De La Rosa able to get a submission on the ground with one slip up, why danger it? Anticipate Espinosa to keep it standing, and if he does, he must remain in the clear for a clear win here.

Forecast: Espinosa by means of consentaneous decision

Next: 15 of the very best female fighters of all-time

UFC Vegas occurs on Saturday, June 13, 2020, live from the UFC Pinnacle in Las Vegas, NV. Follow in addition to FanSided who will be on-site for all your live news and highlights.

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