UFC Fight Night 167: Anderson vs Blachowicz II - Odds and Predictions

Where: Santa Ana Star Center – Rio Rancho, NM.

When: Saturday, February 15, 8 PM EST

How (TV): UFC Fight Pass, Watch on ESPN+ here!

Corey “Overtime” Anderson (13-4)

Height: 6 ft. 3 in.

Reach: 79 in.

Age: 30

Corey Anderson has been climbing the rankings and making quite a name for himself as of late – including making several call-outs against light heavyweight legend Jon Jones.

Anderson is currently riding a four-fight winning streak that includes wins over Patrick Cummins, Ilir Latifi, and former title challenger Glover Texeira.

Most recently, Anderson was put up against who many thought was the next Jon Jones: Johnny Walker. Walker was finishing all of his opponents within the first round.

Last November, when the two went head-to-head, Anderson would impressively TKO Walker in a little over two minutes. The victory earned him a performance of the night bonus.

An Illinois native, Anderson trains at the Renzo Gracie Academy and has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under legend Ricardo Almeida. Anderson has NCAA division III wrestling credentials and has been fighting professionally since 2013. He is a former Ultimate Fighter winner and is currently ranked as the fifth-best light heavyweight in the UFC.

In Anderson’s eighth professional fight, he was pitted against Jan Blachwicz at UFC 191 in 2015. Anderson won the three-round battle via unanimous decision. It was just his third UFC fight.

Jan Blachowicz (25-8)

Height: 6 ft. 2 in.

Reach: 78 in.

Age: 36

Jan Blachowicz is one of the UFC’s light heavyweight staples as he has been fighting for the promotion since 2014.

As of late, Blachowicz has been used as a sort of gatekeeper for former middleweights who decided to move up in weight and try their luck at the light heavyweight division.

Blachowicz’s last two fights came against former top-five middleweights, including former champion Luke Rockhold. Blachowicz knocked out Rockhold in the second-round of their fight and then went on to defeat Jacare Souza via unanimous decision last November. He is 7-1 in his last eight UFC fights.

The Polish-born fighter trains out of his home country with the gym Berkut WCA Fight Team. He has been active in mixed martial arts since 2007 and has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Joe Moreira. His whole career has been spent in the light heavyweight class and he is currently ranked as the UFC’s sixth-best in the division.

A win in this fight will not only avenge his previous loss to Corey Anderson but will also surely secure him as the next light heavyweight title challenger.

2. Diego Sanchez vs Michel Pereira – Welterweight Division

Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (29-12)

Height: 5 ft. 10 in.

Reach: 72 in.

Age: 38

Diego Sanchez is one of the UFC’s longest-tenured fighting.

Since joining the promotion as a middleweight, Sanchez has gone 18-12 across four different weight classes. Sanchez returned to the welterweight division after much time spent at lightweight in 2017.

He lost his return to welterweight fight against Matt Brown but went on to win his next two in a row, which included a TKO victory over Mickey Gall, earning him a performance of the night bonus. Sanchez last fought last July against Michael Chiesa, who was making his own welterweight debut.

Sanchez lost the fight to Chiesa via unanimous decision at UFC 239.

Diego Sanchez has been training off and on with the Jackson-Wink Academy since 2002. The southpaw fighter trains with coach Joshua Fabia. Fighting professionally since 2002, Sanchez has a blackbelt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Roberto Tussa and a black belt in gaidojutsu. He is currently unranked in the welterweight division and is one of only three fighters to fight in four different UFC weight classes.

Michel “Demolidor” Pereira (23-10)

Height: 6 ft. 1 in.

Reach: 73 in.

Age: 26

Since joining the UFC in 2018, Michel Pereira has gone 1-1. He won his debut over Danny Roberts via first-round TKO but followed that performance up with a unanimous decision loss to Tristan Connelly last September.

Pereira is a Brazilian-born fighter who fights and trains out of his home country. Under coach James Gray, Pereira trains with the Scorpion Fighting System gym. He is currently unranked in the welterweight division.

3. Montana De La Rosa vs Mara Romero Borella – Women’s Flyweight Division

Montana De La Rosa (10-5)

Height: 5 ft. 7 in.

Reach: 68 in.

Age: 24

Montana De La Rosa took the UFC by storm when she debuted, putting together a three-fight winning streak against the likes of Christina Marks, Rachael Ostovich, and Nadia Kassem, with all three wins coming via submission and the latter of which earned her a performance of the night bonus.

However, De La Rosa enters this bout coming off of a loss. She last fought last summer against Andrea Lee and suffered her first UFC defeat via unanimous decision.

Still only 24-years-old, the American-born fighter has been fighting since 2014 and trains out of Fort Worth, Texas. She possesses a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is currently ranked as the number 12 women’s flyweight in the UFC.

Mara Romero Borella (12-6-2)

Height: 5 ft. 6 in.

Reach: 69 in.

Age: 33

Mara Romero Borella debuted for the UFC in 2017 and won her first fight by submission.

She was then paired up against women’s flyweight title challenger Katlyn Chookagian who defeated her via unanimous decision. Since that loss, Borella has gone 1-1 with her most recent fight taking place last August. She took on Lauren Murphy and lost the bout via TKO in the third round.

The Italian fighter trains out of Coconut Creek, Florida with the popular American Top Team gym. Active in mixed martial arts since 2014, Borella boasts black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, kickboxing, and shoot boxing. Currently, she is ranked at number 13 in the UFC women’s flyweight division.

4. Brok Weaver vs Rodrigo Vargas – Lightweight Division

Brok “Chata Tuska” Weaver (14-4)

Height: 6 ft.

Reach: 73 in.

Age: 28

Brok Weaver will be making his UFC debut on February 15 when he takes on Rodrigo Vargas. Weaver’s last professional fight was on August 13, 2019, when he performed on the Dan White Contender Series. Weaver fought and defeated Devin Smyth via unanimous decision. The 28-year-old fighter fights out of Alabama and he is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak.

Rodrigo “Kazula” Vargas (11-3)

Height: 5 ft. 8 in.

Reach: 71 in.

Age: 34

There is not too much known about Rodrigo Vargas as this will be only his second bout in the UFC. He last fought on August 10, 2019, against Alex da Silva. “Kazula” was defeated via unanimous decision, marking just the third loss of his professional career.

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Vargas trains with the Mexican Pride Gym. Ten of his 11 wins have come by finish.

Rogerio Bontorin (16-1)

Height: 5 ft. 5 in.

Reach: 67 in.

Age: 27

Another one of the prospects discovered through the Dana White Contender Series, this fight on February 15 will be Rogerio Bontorin’s third UFC appearance.

So far he has gone undefeated in the promotion. His most recent bout was back on August 10, 2019, where he fought Raulian Paiva. Bontorin was awarded a TKO victory in the first round after the fight was stopped by the cage-side doctor due to a cut.

The Brazilian fighter is, overall, on a four-fight winning streak. He trains out of his home country with the Gile Ribeiro Team and Noguchi Team. He is currently ranked at number seven in the UFC flyweight division.

Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg (12-4)

Height: 5 ft. 4 in.

Reach: 63 in.

Age: 26

A former flyweight title contender, Ray Borg fought his last two fights in the UFC’s bantamweight division, mostly due to the fact that Borg was consistently missing weight. He lost his return bout to bantamweight in a controversial decision. More recently, Borg faced off against Gabriel Silva in July of 2019. Borg went on to win the fight via unanimous decision. His fight against Bontorin marks his first fight at flyweight since losing his title fight to former champion Demetrious Johnson.

Specializing in his gaidojutsu, the American-born fighter trains out of Albuquerque at the Jackson-Wink MMA Academy. He has been fighting since 2012. He is currently unranked in either of his divisions in the UFC. He missed over a year due to injury and personal issues and was removed from the flyweight rankings.

6. Lando Vannata vs Yancy Medeiros – Lightweight Division

”Groovy” Lando Vannata (10-4-2)

Height: 5 ft. 9 in.

Reach: 71 in.

Age: 27

Lando Vannata has not had an easy ride since joining the UFC. His debut with the promotion was back in 2016 when he was put up against current number-one ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson.

Vannata lost by submission in the second round. He is 2-4 in the UFC with two no-contests. His most recent fight came in September 2019 where he took on Marc Diakiese. The two fought to a three-round decision in which Vannata lost unanimously.

A former pupil of the Jackson-Wink MMA Academy, the New Jersey native now trains at the BMF Ranch. Vannata has been active in MMA since 2012 and has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is unranked in the lightweight division and is also a former welterweight fighter.

Yancy “The Kid” Medeiros (12-6-1)

Height: 5 ft. 10 in.

Reach: 75.5 in.

Age: 32

Yancy Medeiros has spent much of his professional career under the UFC banner. He had his first fight for the organization in 2013 and has seen mixed results.

He had three fights in the UFC before securing his first win. More recently, Medeiros finds himself riding a two-fight losing streak. After a loss to Donald Cerrone in February 2018 which snapped a three-fight win streak, Medeiros then took on the then-undefeated Gregor Gillespie in his most recent bout. Medeiros suffered a second-round TKO loss in that fight.

This fight against Vannata will be Medeiros’ first fight in over a year. The Hawaiian-born fighter trains in his home state with Team Hakuilua. He has been fighting professionally since 2007 and also used to fight for Strikeforce. He has fought across four weight classes in his career, ranging from lightweight up to light heavyweight.

UFC 247 Results

Jon Jones def. Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision.

Valentina Shevchenko def. Katlyn Chookagian via TKO (Round 3).

Justin Tafa def. Juan Adams via KO (Round 1).

Dan Ige def. Mirsad Bektic via unanimous decision.

Derrick Lewis def. Ilir Latifi via unanimous decision.