Nash and Roberts go to war at UFC Scotland

UFC Fight Night 113 – Prelims Preview. Danny Roberts vs. Bobby Nash

UFC Fight Night 113 Prelims – UFC Welterweight Bout

We haven’t seen Danny Roberts in the cage since he was knocked out by Mike Perry at UFC 204 in October 2016. The loss ended an impressive eight-fight winning streak for Roberts who had consecutive wins dating back to 2011 through Cage Warriors and Ultimate Cage Championships. It was also his first loss in the UFC after first defeating Nathan Coy and Dominique Steele.

‘Nashty’ Bobby Nash, besides having one of the simultaneously best/worse nicknames in MMA, also enters this one after losing via knockout. Nash entered the UFC in January and was stopped by Jingliang Li in the second round at UFC on FOX 23 in what is regarded as one of the best fights of 2017 so far. Nash had been on a six-fight win streak prior to losing to Li.

The Breakdown

Danny Roberts is a slick striker who likes to stick and move. He’s got some excellent boxing skills and a nice variety of kicks to go with his punches as well. If the fight stays clean, Roberts can excel. But if it gets messy, like it did against Mike Perry, Roberts begins to struggle.

Bobby Nash is almost the opposite. In his bout against Jingliang Li, Nash had the most success when he closed the distance and engaged with Li in wild striking exchanges. At a distance, Li picked off Bobby Nash with ease and landed clean right hands over and over again. Nash is always looking to make fights a slugfest and occasionally just rushes forward at his opponent behind crazy looping hooks.

Prediction and Betting Strategy

I think that Bobby Nash will turn this fight into a brawl. It’s a real fight of the night contender and Danny Roberts will struggle to stay on the outside and pick Nash apart. Nash will find a home for one of his looping hooks and drop Roberts in the first round.

The betting strategy here is to take the Total Rounds – Under 2.5 selection. If Nash can’t turn this one into an ugly contest he’s going to be eaten alive by the striking of Danny Roberts. Either way, it’s going to end fast.

Working Class Hero is something to be! Thanks for always bringing it @NeilSeeryMMA! 🇮🇪 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ors5A0b6Z8

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 11, 2017

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Neil Seery

UFC Fight Night 113 Prelims – UFC Flyweight Bout

Alexandre Pantoja made a name for himself on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions when Henry Cejudo picked him up with the first pick. Pantoja was seeded #1 in the tournament and many believed he was the best fighter in the season of The Ultimate Fighter. He defeated Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France before falling short against Hiromasa Ogikubo in the semifinals and missing a chance to meet Tim Elliot in the final.

Neil Seery enters this one ten years older than his opponent. Seery, 37-years-old is a veteran of the sport, and will be making his final walk to the octagon this weekend against Pantoja. Seery hasn’t competed since May 2016 due to two bouts that were cancelled at the last-minute with Ian McCall in November and February.

The Breakdown

It’s an interesting matchup of the old vs. new. Pantoja really impressed me on The Ultimate Fighter with his skillset, but I was always concerned about his mentality. Against Moreno, he had a definitive advantage on the ground but chose to try and trade shots with Moreno instead. It was either bad gameplanning or Pantoja can’t follow instruction.

Pantoja is similarly skilled to Louis Smolka, a flyweight that Seery battled at UFC 189. Smolka proved to be too fast and furious for the often slower but methodical Seery. I expect Pantoja’s transitions to be too much for Seery to deal with this time at UFC Fight Night 113, too.

Prediction and Betting Strategy

Alexandre Pantoja has a significant advantage in the grappling and will control the majority of the fight on the mat. I expect Seery to defend superbly but not offer much on the offensive end.

Alexandre Pantoja by Decision

Charlie Ward vs. Galore Bofando

UFC Fight Night 113 Prelims – UFC Welterweight Bout

Charlie Ward gets another chance in the UFC after running into the heavy hands of Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Fight Night 99. Alhassan dismissed Ward just 53 seconds into the first round. Ward is a training partner of Conor McGregor at Straight Blast Gym Ireland and will be looking to put on a show and keep his contract with the UFC alive.

Galore Bofando makes his UFC debut in Glasgow this weekend at UFC Fight Night 113. He’s 4-2 as a professional and his last fight was in February 2015 when he stopped Kes Mamba in the first round by KO/TKO.

The Breakdown

On paper, it looks as though the UFC are just throwing any old opponent at Charlie Ward to get him started in the UFC and begin marketing him because he is a training partner of Conor McGregor. What we’re going to see, though, is a closely contested bout between two heavy-hitters. Both Ward and Bofando are huge welterweights with tons of power behind them.

Bofando is super unique. On the outside, he throws all kinds of unorthodox strikes to the head and body and is dangerous from any angle. Bofando uses a ‘Mugendo’ kickboxing style, that is full of finesse and kung-fu techniques. Charlie Ward is going to need to close the distance fast and smother Bofando if he wants to have any success.

Bofando has shown time and time again, though, that he has the strength to push an opponent away when they enter clinch range and get the fight back to his distance. The only problem that Bofando may have is if he can’t put Charlie Ward away in the first round. As the fight progresses, Bofdano’s style will become less effective as he fatigues and Ward will start closing the distance.

Prediction and Betting Strategy

Call me crazy, but I’m expecting a spectacular knockout from Galore Bofando. Charlie Ward is a little too predictable and Bofando should light him up with kicks.

Galore Bofando by KO/TKO – Round 1

Danny Henry vs. Daniel Teymur

UFC Fight Night 113 Prelims – UFC Lightweight Bout

10-2 Danny Henry gets to debut in front of his fans in Scotland this weekend as he faces fellow UFC newcomer, Daniel Teymur. Henry has predominantly been fighting in Extreme Fighting Championship and is currently on a three-fight winning streak.

Don’t get Daniel Teymur confused with his brother, David Teymur. David just recently defeated Lando Vannata and is making waves in the UFC. Daniel now gets his chance to shine in the organisation by making his promotional debut this weekend in Glasgow. He’s undefeated with six wins by stoppage and an even split of submissions and knockouts.

The Breakdown

This one is going to be one of the most technically sound fights on the preliminary card. Daniel Teymur has excellent kickboxing and submission grappling skills. Danny Henry is a clean precision striker who can also ground and pound an opponent out.

From what I’ve seen from Teymur, his striking is more dangerous than Henry’s at a distance. Teymur also handles himself well on the ground.

Danny Henry knows how to win a fight, though, and is more than capable of getting over the line in front of his home fans if he can close the distance and out-work Daniel Teymur.

Prediction and Betting Strategy

This one goes to the judge’s scorecards but Danny Henry’s top pressure and higher volume of strikes will score him a victory.

Danny Henry by Decision

Best Bets

Danny Roberts vs. Bobby Nash
Total Rounds – Under 2.5
Sunday 16th July – 2:30 pm (ET) /  6:30pm GMT
Odds: 1.91Bet €100 to win €19191/100Bet £100 to win £191-110Bet $100 to win $1910.91Bet HK$100 to win HK$191-1.10Bet Rp100 to win Rp1910.9100Bet RM100 to win RM191  – Bet365

Alexandre Pantoja vs. Neil Seery
Alexandre Pantoja by Decision
Sunday 16th July – 2:00 pm (ET) /  6:00pm GMT
Odds: 2.20Bet €100 to win €2206/5Bet £100 to win £220+120Bet $100 to win $2201.20Bet HK$100 to win HK$2201.20Bet Rp100 to win Rp220-0.8333Bet RM100 to win RM220  – William Hill

Charlie Ward vs. Galore Bofando
Galore Bofando by KO/TKO
Sunday 16th July – 1:30 pm (ET) /  5:30pm GMT
Odds: 4.20Bet €100 to win €42016/5Bet £100 to win £420+320Bet $100 to win $4203.20Bet HK$100 to win HK$4203.20Bet Rp100 to win Rp420-0.3125Bet RM100 to win RM420  – Ladbrokes

Danny Henry vs. Daniel Teymur
Danny Henry by Decision
Sunday 16th July – 1:00 pm (ET) /  5:00pm GMT
Waiting on odds