For the second straight Saturday, the UFC presents a fight card on their digital network, UFC Fight Pass. This one will be the most stacked event in the short three-event history of UFC Fight Pass cards as the main event features a former title challenger. Alexander Gustafsson looks to get back in the win column and secure a rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship when he takes on undefeated Jimi Manuwa in the main event in London, England. In the night’s co-main event, we have a lightweight battle between explosive strikers as Michael Johnson takes on Melvin Guillard.
The event goes down on Saturday from London, England, with the action kicking off at 12:30 PM eastern time, and the full card will be available for all-day viewing for those who miss out on it live. We will be breaking down the full card headed your way on Saturday, and here we will take a look at the solid four-fight main card. Let’s delve into it right now.
Light Heavyweights (Five-Round Main Event)
Alexander Gustafsson (15-2, 7-2 UFC) vs. Jimi Manuwa (14-0, 3-0 UFC)
Alexander Gustafsson looks to get himself back into a title fight as he returns to the Octagon in the main event of UFC Fight Night 37 to meet the talented and undefeated Jimi Manuwa. Gustafsson is looking to get back into the win column after coming up just short in his quest to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion as he lost a close decision to Jon Jones in his last fight at UFC 165 in September. That ended Gustafsson’s six-fight win streak, and the only two losses of his career have come to Jones and his now-training partner, Phil Davis. Gustafsson has wins over Thiago Silva, Matt Hamill, James Te-Huna and Mauricio Rua, amongst others, during his career. Manuwa looks to remain undefeated as he steps in for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in this main event bout, the first main event of his UFC career. Manuwa has won all 14 of his professional fights, and the last three have come as a member of the UFC roster. In fact, all 14 of his wins have come by stoppage, and he has never been past the second round, and has only been past the first round four times. Manuwa’s three wins inside the Octagon have come against Kyle Kingsbury, Cyrille Diabate and Ryan Jimmo.
Gustafsson has firmly established himself as the number two light heavyweight in the world, and many thought he had done enough to take the title from Jon Jones. His combinations were crisp, his movement was as good as ever, and his takedowns and takedown defense were at the highest level. If that same Gustafsson shows up against Manuwa, he should take care of business. Manuwa is a dangerous opponent and does have all stoppage wins. However, in his three UFC fights, two have ended due to injury and one due to a doctor’s stoppage, and Manuwa left a lot of holes open that will likely be exposed by Gustafsson. Manuwa will be giving up a lot against Gustafsson. Gustafsson will have a five-inch height advantage on top of a huge reach advantage, and it will be tough for Manuwa to get on the inside of that range. Manuwa is a big power puncher, and he is very dangerous inside the first ten minutes. It is hard to say how far he goes after the initial ten minutes because we have never seen him go that far. Gustafsson has been the distance, and survived the war against Jones, so we know he can go all the way.
Manuwa is going to have to navigate himself around the movement of Gustafsson, and that is going to be very tricky. Gustafsson uses his footwork and angles well, and he mixes his punch combinations both to the head and the body, and he throws in leg kicks for good measure. Manuwa has solid boxing, and he attacks the body well, and he throws all of his punches with power. His left hook is especially devastating and Gustafsson will need to use his reach to keep Manuwa from connecting. Gustafsson will need to work on making Manuwa fatigue as that will help set up the takedowns. Gustafsson can dominate this fight with takedowns and ground work, and Manuwa has not been significantly tested on the ground. Gustafsson will want to control this fight, and he has a lot to prove and wants to get back into that title fight. Manuwa is a dangerous opponent, and he is likely a little more dangerous than Nogueira would have been at this stage, but this fight is Gustafsson’s to lose. As it draws past the first ten minutes, that is where Gustafsson will take over as he gets either a TKO or a submission win when it gets to the main event rounds.
Prediction: Gustafsson
Lightweights
Michael Johnson (14-8, 6-4 UFC) vs. Melvin Guillard (31-2-2 (2), 12-8 (1) UFC)
An interesting lightweight co-main event takes place as former training partners Michael Johnson and Melvin Guillard meet in a potentially explosive fight. Johnson replaced Ross Pearson in this fight, who was forced out of a rematch with Guillard due to a knee injury. Despite being former training partners, Johnson and Guillard do not like each other, and Johnson was eager to step in and fight Guillard and says he has something to prove as they have talked trash back and forth. Johnson is looking to extend his two-fight win streak after scoring a decision over Joe Lauzon in August, and knocking out Gleison Tibau at UFC 168 in December. Johnson is on the best roll of his career and has vaulted himself into the top fifteen of the UFC’s lightweight rankings. He is 5-2 in his last seven fights. Guillard has struggled lately following a five-fight win streak that put him in title contention back in 2010 and 2011. Guillard was as close as one fight away from a title shot, but a loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 in October 2011 started a stretch where he scored just two wins over a span of seven fights. He is coming off the no contest with Pearson in October, and he has seemingly found a home with American Top Team after bouncing around training camps for the last few years.
This one will be battled out on the feet as they really do wanna punch each other in the face as much as possible. Johnson fights out of the southpaw position and that is going to throw Guillard for a loop as Johnson has rocked Lauzon and Tibau with straight left hands. Guillard has always been a tough opponent, but his chin is starting to show the signs of lots of battles, and Johnson could hurt him badly if he lands cleanly. Guillard is also very powerful and likes to land vicious knees in close quarters. Both men have good movement on their feet and put together solid combinations, and both men are very athletic and explosive. This one will likely not hit the ground as both men do not like fighting on the ground, but Johnson may have the better wrestling of the two and Guillard doesn’t fight so well off of his back. Guillard has shown that he can suffer from mental lapses, and fighting a former teammate may throw him off of his game. Or, maybe, it will force the best version of him to show up on fight night. This one will be a battle but Johnson has been on such a roll that he will find a way to get a decision win.
Prediction: Johnson
Flyweights
Brad Pickett (23-8, 3-3 UFC) vs. Neil Seery (13-9, 0-0 UFC)
Exciting Englishman Brad Pickett will be making the drop down from the bantamweight division to the flyweight division at UFC Fight Night 37 and he welcomes Irishman Neil Seery to the UFC is his debut at 125 pounds. Seery is a replacement for the injured Ian McCall, who was forced out due to a groin injury. While Pickett and McCall was a very interesting bout that would have put the winner into the title picture, Pickett will get the chance to make a fresh start in a new division against a season veteran looking to make a name for himself with a big opportunity. Pickett was making his way up the bantamweight ladder and close to a title shot before dropping a decision to Eddie Wineland at UFC 155 in December 2012. He got back on track with a decision win over Mike Easton, but a submission loss to Michael McDonald in a fun fight in August put him at 1-2 over three fights, which had a hand in his decision to drop weight classes. Seery struggled at the start of his career as he started out just 1-4 over his first five fights, but a recent 6-1 run, as well as having the backing of fellow Irishman Conor McGregor, gets him the chance to make a short-notice debut as an injury replacement. He has scored eleven of his thirteen wins by stoppage.
Pickett is an exciting fighter who loves a good brawl, and he has quite the solid skillset. While he had just a .500 record as a bantamweight in the UFC, his three losses came to guys ranked inside the top five of the division. Moving down a weight class gives him the chance to compete for a title, and he will be looking for a big statement against Seery. Pickett likes to push the pace in his fights, and he will turn the fight into a brawl. Pickett is good at transitioning from his striking to his wrestling, and he has a solid grappling game. Seery is mainly a stand-up fighter as he relies mainly on his boxing. He has good power and combinations, but rocking Pickett will be tough as Pickett has a durable chin. Pickett has a lot of power in his hands as well, and he can always switch levels and change the fight to a ground battle. Seery will just have too much to handle with Pickett, and Pickett’s level changing and pace pushing gives him the big edge. Pickett is a big favorite for many reasons, including with Seery taking this fight on short notice. Pickett gets the job done inside the distance.
Prediction: Pickett
Welterweights
Gunnar Nelson (11-0-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. Omari Akhmedov (12-1, 1-0 UFC)
The opening bout of the main card is a welterweight clash between foreign prospects, the type of fight you will find regularly on these UFC Fight Pass fight cards, as Gunnar Nelson looks for his third UFC win when he takes on Omari Akhmedov, who is looking for his second win in as many appearances inside the Octagon. Nelson looks to remain undefeated as he puts his eleven-fight win streak on the line. He has been out of action for over a year due to injuries. He was last seen in February 2013 when he scored a decision win over Jorge Santiago. It was the first decision win for Nelson as he previous ten wins had come by stoppage, including a submission win over DaMarques Johnson in his UFC debut in September 2012. This will also be the third straight time that Nelson has appeared on a UFC card held in the United Kingdom. Akhmedov is also riding an eleven-fight win streak as he looks for his second UFC win following a knockout win over Thiago Perpetuo at UFC Fight Night 32 in November. That fight was the ‘Fight Of The Night’ in November and it was also the ninth straight first-round stoppage win for Akhmedov. This fight will mark Akhmedov’s first bout at 170 pounds as he moves down from the middleweight division.
Nelson has a big ground game, and that tends to make his striking be seen as underrated. He has a karate background and excellent striking, and he is very accurate on his feet. He really commits to his punches, and Akhmedov does have a chin that can be hurt. Akhmedov is an International Master of Sport in Sambo, but going into a ground battle with Nelson may be a recipe for disaster. Nelson advances his positions well on the ground and is always looking to find a submission. Akhmedov has solid chokes as well, but he likely won’t be able to hang with Nelson down on the ground. Akhmedov has to hope to land something on the feet, and Nelson can be hit, especially if he falls back to his tendency of holding his hands low. If Nelson gets in trouble on his feet, though, he will always turn a fight into a battle for takedowns. Nelson is the better all-around fighter, and while Akhmedov will put up a solid challenge, Nelson’s overall ability will be too much for Akhmedov. Nelson may not be able to finish him as Akhmedov is tough, but the fight ends with a Nelson win regardless.
Prediction: Nelson
