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UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Jandiroba Preview
On Saturday, July 20th, the UFC will be featuring a very important Women’s Strawweight bout in the main event from the Apex. I won’t lie to you, though, my fellow MMA enthusiasts - this card may be for the die hard fans only. Listen…there are some fun fights on this card. However, I wouldn’t blame you if your eyes glance down below this paragraph and don’t recognize many names. I think we’ll get some fun fights, though. Let’s take a look at the card…
Main Card (ESPN, ESPN+ at 8:00 PM ET)
Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba
Brad Tavares vs. Jun Yong Park
Steve Garcia vs. Seung Woo Choi
Kurt Holobaugh vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky
Cody Durden vs. Bruno Silva
Doo Ho Choi vs. Bill Algeo
Preliminary Card (ESPN2, ESPN+ at 5:00 PM ET)
Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Hyder Amil
Brian Kelleher vs. Cody Gibson
Miranda Maverick vs. Dione Barbosa
Loik Radzhabov vs. Trey Ogden
Luana Carolina vs. Lucie Pudilova
Mohammed Usman vs. Thomas Petersen
The Prelims
Even on a card without too many household names, these Prelims might end up having some good fights. Here’s what I’m looking forward to…
Mohammed Usman suffered his first loss in the UFC his last time out. Usman has a lot of skills, but has yet to show the ability to just release the beast. I’m curious to see what he learned from his loss and if his cardio has improved, allowing him to be on the go in this fight.
Miranda Maverick has been having a fun little run. She is 4-1 in her last five fights and her personality is coming out more and more. This should be a fun scrap.
Brian Kelleher and Cody Gibson is a heck of a Prelim fight on this card. I’m actually surprised that it’s not on the Main Card. I am looking forward to this fight, as both guys tend to go after it.
Doo Ho Choi vs. Bill Algeo
Doo Ho Choi is back after a long layoff. We last saw him in February of 2023 when he went to a draw against Kyle Nelson. The draw happened due to a point deduction from a headbutt. Before that fight, Doo Ho Choi was on a three fight losing streak that went all the way back to 2016. Yeah, he doesn’t fight too often nowadays, but he always puts on a performance. Bill Algeo tends to do the same and will be looking to get back on track after his loss to…Kyle Nelson. As George Lucas once said, “It’s like poetry, they rhyme.” MMA is clearly no different than Star Wars, my friends.
Cody Durden vs. Bruno Silva
Bruno Silva is currently riding a three fight win streak, all fights that also earned him “Performance of the Night.” The last win was by submission, which was a change from his previous two knockouts. The well-rounded fighter will be taking on the tough Cody Durden, who also has a pretty decent all-around game. Durden had his four fight win streak broken up in December, so he’ll be looking to get another streak going by ending Silva’s. This should be a pretty entertaining fight!
Kurt Holobaugh vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky
Kaynan Kruschewsky looked great on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. He was quickly thrown onto a card less than two months later and ended up losing his first fight in the UFC. He hasn’t fought since, but is now taking on the very tough Kurt Holobaugh who is trying to keep his second chance in the UFC going after a loss his last time out.
Steve Garcia vs. Seung Woo Choi
Both men haven’t fought since last year, so this fight might have a short feeling out process. Win or lose, though, 8 of Steve Garcia’s last 9 fights have ended with punches. Once they feel each other out, this one might not last too long.
Brad Tavares vs. JunYong Park
Brad Tavares is 3-5 in his last 8 fights and is making me feel old. I have been watching him in the UFC since my mid-20s and he is entering the last stage of his career. Ugh! Where does the time go? JunYong Park had a bit of a hype train rolling until his loss against Andre Muniz last year. Both of these fighters are scrappy and will be looking to get back on track as they look to make a push in their mid-30s. I don’t expect this fight to last too long.
Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba
Listen…this might not be a big name main event, but it’s an important one in the Women’s Strawweight Division. These two Top 5 fighters (Lemos at #3 and Jandiroba at #5) are tough and have really strong all-around games. Both women have pretty long arms, so it’ll be interesting to see who can close the distance. It may come down to who can work in a quick shot through guard or what happens on the ground, if it goes there. Either way, an impressive win may yield a title shot consideration.
My Picks
Virna Jandiroba
Brad Tavares
Steve Garcia
Kaynan Kruschewsky
Bruno Silva
Doo Ho Choi
Jeong Yeong Lee
Brian Kelleher
Miranda Maverick
Trey Ogden
Luana Carolina
Mohammed Usman
Am I super excited about this card? I won’t lie to you - no, I’m not. However, I do think we will get some fun fights and I’m very interested to see what happens in the main event. I also like that the show is a little bit earlier than usual, so I won’t have to stay up too late for a show that isn’t a major banger.
What do you think of the card? Will you be watching? Do you think the winner of the main event will be able to earn a title shot? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll be back next week to talk about this show’s results and next week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter. See you then!
