UFC on ESPN 6: Reyes vs Weidman - Odds and Predictions

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA.

When: Friday, October 18, 9PM EST

How (TV): ESPN, TSN

Dominick Reyes (11-0) vs Chris Weidman (14-4) – Light heavyweight division

Undefeated light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes is set to welcome the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman to the 205-pound division this Friday night.

Dominick Reyes – ”The Devastator”

Dominick Reyes, 29, has an undefeated professional mixed martial arts record, including five straight wins within the UFC octagon. Reyes began his UFC run with three straight finishes – two TKO victories and one submission. He then went on the defeat light heavyweight veteran Ovince St. Preux by unanimous decision in October of 2018. Reyes’ last fight was earlier this year on March 16 where he faced off against former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. Reyes won the bout via split decision and the decision wasn’t without controversy. Some pundits came out to suggest they thought that Oezdimir had done enough to win the fight but it was Reyes that came out on top, moving his undefeated record to an impressive 11-0.

”The Devastator” stands at 6 feet, 4 inches tall and has a reach of 77 inches. The American-born fighter trains out of California at the Cage Combat Academy with his brother, and UFC lightweight, Alex Reyes. He has a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has been active in MMA since 2014. He is currently ranked as the UFC’s fourth-best light heavyweight.

 

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First Official UFC fight Poster. #milestone #mainevent #boston #ufc #face2face #mytime #kingDom #teamquest #cobrakai

A post shared by Dominick Reyes (@domreyes24) on Sep 24, 2019 at 8:44am PDT

Chris Weidman – “All-American”

Chris Weidman, 35, has been on a bit of a rollercoaster since shocking the world and defeating middleweight legend Anderson Silva for the middleweight title. Weidman defended the belt twice against Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida and was 13-0 heading into his bout with Luke Rockhold. Weidman was defeated by Rockhold which began a three-fight losing streak. He snapped the losing streak in 2017, defeating Kelvin Gastelum but was defeated once again in his most recent fight against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a fight where he lost by knockout. He has gone 1-4 in his last five UFC fights. After stating that he has had recent issues cutting the weight to 185-pounds, and making claims that he believes he has what it takes to defeat current light heavyweight king Jon Jones, Weidman moves up to 205-pounds this Friday to make his light heavyweight debut.

The “All-American” stands at 6 feet, 2 inches tall – two inches shorter than Reyes. However, he has a reach of 78 inches which gives him a one-inch advantage over his opponent in this bout. Fighting out of New York, Weidman trains with the Serra-Longo gym with coaches Matt Serra and Ray Longo. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Matt Serra and Renzo Gracie and also has NCAA division I wrestling credentials. He has been active in MMA since 2009 and although not ranked in the light heavyweight division, he is still ranked as the UFC’s eighth-best middleweight.

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Featherweights Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens faced off in the main event of the UFC on ESPN card on September 21 in Mexico. However, Stephens suffered an eye poke from Rodriguez and the doctors called a stop to the fight just 15-seconds into the fight. This caused much controversy as Rodriguez accused Stephens of faking the injury, video surfacing of the two having a post-fight confrontation in their hotel, and Stephens coming out to say he wants his revenge. Stephens recovered from his injury and the rematch was to be made as soon as possible. It was moved into the co-main event slot of this Friday’s card.

Yair Rodriguez – ”El Pantera”

Yair Rodriguez, 27, came into the Stephens fight going 1-1 in his last two fights before their “no-contest”. Rodriguez had been undefeated in the UFC, winning six fights in a row before being defeated by veteran fighter Frankie Edgar in 2017. Rodriguez bounced back from that loss, however, by defeating the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung with one of the most amazing highlight reel knockouts a fight fan could ever see.

”El Pantera” stands at 5 feet, 10 and one half inch tall and has a reach of 71 inches. The Mexican-born fighter trains in California with the Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center. He has been active in MMA since 2011 and has a black belt in taekwondo. He is currently ranked as the seventh-best featherweight in the UFC.

Jeremy Stephens – ”Lil Heathen”

Jeremy Stephens, 33, had been on a two-fight losing streak heading into his first bout with Yair rodriguez. Stephens had a three-fight winning streak snapped by former featherweight champion Jose Aldo back in 2018. After that loss, the UFC pitted him against rising star Zabit Magomedsharipov on March 2 of this year. Stephens was defeated by Magomedsharipov by unanimous decision. The first fight against Rodriguez was the first no-contest of his career.

”Lil Heathen” stands at 5 feet, 8 and one half inch tall, two inches shorter than Rodriguez. He has an equal reach of 71 inches, however, heading into the bout. The American-born fighter trains out of San Diego with the Alliance MMA team. He has been active in MMA since 2005 and has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is ranked at number-eight in the UFC featherweight division.

Greg Hardy (5-1) vs Ben Sosoli (7-2) – Heavyweight division

Greg Hardy – “Prince of War”

Former NFL star Greg Hardy, 31, will make his fourth UFC appearance Friday night. After losing his UFC debut by disqualification due to an illegal knee, Hardy has won two fights in a row – both by first-round TKO. His last fight came on July 20 where he faced Juan Adams. Hardy beat Adams via TKO in only 45 seconds.

The “Prince of War” stands at 6 feet, 5 inches tall and has a reach of 80 inches. Hardy trains out of Coconut Creek, Florida with the infamous American Top Team gym. He has only been active in mixed martial arts since 2017 and is still currently unranked by the UFC.

Ben Sosoli – ”Seki”

Hardy will face off against heavyweight Ben Sosoli, 29, who is making his UFC debut. Sosoli has fought on both Dana White’s Contender Series and the Ultimate Fighter reality show. Sosoli’s last fight, which took place on the Contender Series, was ruled a no-contest after an accidental eye poke. He is 2-2 in his last four professional bouts.

”Seki” stands at an even 6 feet tall, giving up five inches of height to his opponent in this fights. He will also give up six inches of reach as Sosoli’s reach measures at only 74 inches. The Australian-born fighter trains under head coach Daniel Kelly at the Resilience Training Centre. He is known for his judo style of fighting.

Joe Lauzon (27-15) vs Jonathan Pearce (9-3) – Lightweight division

Joe Lauzon – ”J-Lau”

UFC veteran and former Ultimate Fighter contender Joe Lauzon, 35, may have an impressive resume that boasts the most submission of the night bonuses in UFC history and the second-most bonuses in general, but that may be attributed to the Joe Lauzon of old. In his last ten fights, Lauzon has gone just 4-6 and is currently riding a three-fight losing streak. His last fight came on April 7, 2018 at UFC 223 against Chris Gruetzemacher. Lauzon was defeated after the second round via TKO due to a doctor’s stoppage.

”J-Lau” stands at 5 feet, 10 inches tall and possesses a reach of 71 and one half inches. The Massachusetts native trains with his team at Lauzon MMA. He has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has been fighting professionally in mixed martial arts since 2004.

 

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Special thanks to @peterwelchsgym for hosting the #UFCBoston open workouts yesterday. @randy_costa and I are both ready to go! @ufc @reebok @reebokboston

A post shared by Joe Lauzon (@joelauzon) on Oct 16, 2019 at 5:43am PDT

Jonathan Pearce – ”JSP”

Jonathan Pearce, 27, is stepping into the UFC octagon for the first time after a huge win on the Contender Series. Pearce has won his last five professional fights in a row and that streak culminated on September 9 on the Contender Series when he defeated Jacob Rosales by knock out in the third round.

”JSP” stands at 5 feet, 11 inches tall – one inch taller than Lauzon. His reach measures at 71.5 inches – the same as his opponent’s. The American-born fighter trains out of Tennessee with the MMA Lab.

Maycee Barber (7-0) vs Gillian Robertson (7-3) – Women’s flyweight division

Maycee Barber – ”The Future”

The up-and-coming Maycee Barber, still just 21-years-old, will enter the octagon for her third time this Friday night. After an appearance on the Contender Series, Barber has gone 2-0 under the UFC banner, with both wins coming via second-round TKO. Her last fight was on March 23 against J.J. Aldrich.

”The Future” stands at 5 feet, 5 inches tall and has a reach of 65 inches. The American-born fighter trains out of Milwaukee under coach Duke Roufus and trains her wrestling with teammate Ben Askren. She is also affiliated with the Fort Collins MMA gym. With a win Friday, Barber should be able to break into the top-15 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Gillian Robertson – ”The Savage”

Gillian Robertson, 24, is another prospect for the UFC. She has gone 3-1 under the UFC banner after competing on the Ultimate Fighter series. She is currently riding a two-fight winning streak that saw her submit Veronica Macedo in February and, more recently, TKO Sarah Frota on July 27 at UFC 240 in her home country of Canada.

”The Savage” stands at equal height as her opponent at 5 feet, 5 inches tall. Her reach is also identical at 65 inches. The Canadian-born fighter trains out of Florida with American Top Team and trains her Brazilian jiu-jitsu under former UFC fighter Din Thomas. She has been active in MMA since 2016 and currently holds the number-15 rank in the UFC women’s flyweight division.

Deron Winn (6-0) vs Darren Stewart – Middleweight division

Deron Winn

Deron Winn, 30, will be making only his second appearance in the UFC octagon Friday night. The undefeated fighter made his UFC debut on June 22 against Eric Spicely. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Winn has had two fights fail to come to fruition since then and will be eager to try to continue his winning streak now that he has found an opponent.

Winn is like few other middleweights out there, standing at only 5 feet, 5 inches tall with a reach of 71 inches. But he is a physical tank of a human being. The Missouri native trains in California at the American Kickboxing Academy with the likes of UFC greats Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is known for his wrestling credentials and takedowns.

Darren Stewart – ”The Dentist”

Darren Stewart, 28, has gone 3-4 in the UFC with one no-contest. His last fight came on June 8 at UFC 238 against Bevon Lewis. He defeated Lewis via unanimous decision. He is 4-1 in his last five bouts.

”The Dentist” stands at an even 6 feet tall, giving him an astounding seven inch height advantage. He has a reach of 74 inches, giving him a three inch advantage over Winn as well. The Bristish fighter trains with the MMA Clinic and has a black belt in taekwondo. He has been fighting professionally since 2013.