UFC Fort Lauderdale: Three Reasons To Watch Oliveira vs Perry
This weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs Hermansson is truly stacked from top to bottom. It’s so star-studded in fact, most hardcore fans probably wouldn’t mind paying $60 to watch it. But with an ESPN+ subscription, that won’t be necessary. Even the undercard, which airs on ESPN and ESPN2 features a wealth of excellent fights including some with longtime UFC vets like Andrei Arlovski and Jim Miller, as well as former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza. See the full lineup below.
If there’s only one fight that is not to be missed, as if there were but one opportunity to introduce a casual fan or a close friend to MMA, it has to be Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira vs Mike Perry. Here are the top three reasons why:
1. They are very evenly matched. Stylistically, they are both excellent strikers with one-punch knockout power. Perry has a background in professional boxing, while Oliveira came to MMA from pro kickboxing, finishing all of his fights by knockout. They are virtually identical in their grappling abilities and each of them is very well-rounded in all aspects of the game.
2. Neither man is capable of a boring fight. They are as game as they come; fighters first, competitors second. Cowboy Oliveira has four performance of the night bonuses while Perry once earned two in a row for back to back knockouts. Even in defeat, each of them leaves it all in the cage every single time they compete.
3. Both of them are finishers. In 19 wins, Oliveira finished 16 of them, with 12 knockouts and 4 submissions. Perry began his pro MMA career on a 9-fight knockout streak and despite never finishing a fight by submission, 11 of 12 career victories came by way of knockout.
Most of the Las Vegas odds currently have the Brazilian Cowboy at a little under -180 and Perry as a +150 underdog. This match-up is a risky bet, so a wise decision maker ought to sit back and enjoy what is sure to be a firefight and avoid risking your money. Oh, and don’t blink! This fight will almost assuredly end at any moment.
Main Card (ESPN+)
Middleweight MAIN EVENT: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs Jack Hermansson
Heavyweight CO-MAIN EVENT: Greg Hardy vs Dmitrii Smoliakov
**Welterweight: Alex Oliveira vs Mike Perry**
Light Heavyweight: Glover Teixeira vs Ion Cutelaba
Bantamweight: John Lineker vs Cory Sandhagen
Lightweight: Roosevelt Roberts vs Thomas Gifford
Preliminary Card (ESPN)
Welterweight: Ben Saunders vs Takashi Sato
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski vs Augusto Sakai
Women’s Strawweight: Carla Esparza vs Virna Jandiroba
Lightweight: Gilbert Burns vs Mike Davis
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN2)
Lightweight: Jim Miller vs Jason Gonzalez
Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill vs Jodie Esquibel
Welterweight: Court McGee vs Dhiego Lima
