Preview: UFC Seattle Prelims

If there’s an overarching theme to the UFC Seattle undercard, it might be “redemption. ” The Ultimate Fighting Championship pulls into Jet City on Saturday with a 13-fight lineup anchored by former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and enough of his fellow New Zealander and Australian colleagues that it almost makes you wonder whether the card was originally slated for Sydney or Melbourne. Aside from that geographic quirk, the most notable feature of this weekend’s fight night—especially on the prelims—is the large number of men and women looking to right the ship.

Whether we’re speaking of fighters once considered red-hot prospects that seem to be regressing, like Casey O'Neill or Adrian Yanez , or notable free-agent signings who stumbled in their Octagon debuts, such as Tofiq Musayev and Lance Gibson Jr. , it isn’t that their jobs are necessarily in immediate jeopardy, but they are very much as risk for becoming just another guy or gal in some very crowded divisions. Here is the preview for the seven-fight undercard of UFC Fight Night 271, also known as UFC Seattle: Lightweights Ignacio Bahamondes vs.

Tofiq Musayev BETTING ODDS: Bahamondes (-300); Musayev (+250) Bahamondes (17-6; 6-3 UFC) steps in on about three weeks’ notice to take on Musayev (22-6; 0-1 UFC), who had been scheduled to face Dana White's Contender Series alumnus Samuel Sanches on Saturday. The 28-year-old Chilean might be the biggest lightweight in the UFC by the tale of the tape and the eyeball test, so there’s reason for concern when he takes a short-notice booking, but he hasn’t missed weight since his UFC debut five years ago, and considering that he has been calling for a fight since January, it seems safe to assume he has been keeping in shape. “La Jaula” is absolutely massive at 6-foot-1 with a powerful frame and long arms and legs, but aside from delivering big power, he doesn’t often fight like it.

Bahamondes is a come-forward pressure fighter who effectively forces a close-range fight despite having reach on nearly everyone. His power and durability make that an intimidating approach, as he has punishing short-range weapons including knees and short hooks, and a fast front headlock like the one he used to snare Zhu Rong , and for fighters who try and engage him at distance, he will uncork some massive head kicks. It’s worth noting at this point, however, that the men who have defeated Bahamondes in the Octagon— John Makdessi , Ludovit Klein and Rafael Fiziev —are the three shortest opponents he has faced, and all three employed a broadly similar skill set and approach: quick-twitch counterpunchers who used a lot of movement, showed respect but not fear of his closer-quarters offense, and at least feinted the takedown.