Perth, Australia is the host city for this week’s UFC Fight Night Della Maddalena vs. Prates production. The card features twelve fights all populated with an Aussie athlete who will face an adversary that must travel from outside the Country into Australia to compete.
These fights drop at prime time in Perth while the US will tune into preliminary action at 1am PT Saturday while the main event drops at 4am PT. Aussie fight fans are rowdy when the fights are held at unreasonable hours in the early AM so when they can imbibe then take in the battles at prime time in Perth the scene is liable to be crazy!
The UFC will utilize the large cage as well of the twelve bouts seven feature welterweight (170lbs.) or larger men competing which should further fuel the rabid crowd in attendance looking for violence.
Last week Aljamain Sterling +130 proved once again the he is a legitimate threat to featherweight Champion Alex Volkanovski’s title belt when he defeated Youssef Zalal in dominant fashion. The question everyone awaits is will he finally get a chance at the title fight he has earned?
Digital results to date: 8-8-1 -1.0u
Carlos Prates -120 vs. Jack Della Maddalena +100 Welterweight (170lbs.) main event
Prates, currently ranked fifth in a very competitive division is a true character.
Not only is he one of the leaders of Team Fighting Nerds from Brazil but Prates, a chain smoking party boy is as dangerous in the octagon as he is deft on a dance floor.
Prates began his fighting career as a formidable Muay Thai striker. Then early in his youth he began to develop his Jui-Jitsu which provided Prates with a tremendous balance of fight ability for he is able to excel on the feet, pressed against the cage or on the canvas.
Prates, 6-1 in the UFC is long, tall, highly athletic, and very aggressive. His sole loss was three fights back against Ian Machado Garry. Since that setback he has earned decisive victories over fighters now freefalling out of the top fifteen in Geoff Neal and Leon Edwards.
In an ideal set up Prates’ adversary in any fight would choose to stand with him and try to bang it out on the feet.
In number one ranked JDM we have an Aussie scrapper who is extremely durable, highly athletic, and also decorated with a black belt in BJJ. Where Prates uses his length to set up his striking, JDM uses his aggressive forward pressing boxing to engage opponents.
JDM applies constant forward pressure to supplement his combination striking. Where Prates may have the power, JDM possesses the striking volume, forceful forward pressure and durability that will be the determining factor in this fight.
Provided JDM can back Prates up, then this fight becomes most favorable for him however, Prates flamboyant kicking, his flying knees and his own forceful striking will look to meet JDM center cage. From there the fighter backing the other combatant up will control this fight.
JDM has an edge in experience, he’s been in with the champion of the division as well he fights in front of his homies, so he derives advantage in those aspects of this fight.
This will be a classic long, tall striker striving to create damaging strike angles against a forward plodding, determined, workhorse of a bull looking to badger the Brazilian with constant pressure for fifteen minutes.
When this fight turns to the championship rounds it’s my judgement that JDM’s constant pressure, his body attack and his professionalism (he does not drink, smoke or joke during fight camps while Prates drinks, smokes and parties right up to fight time) together begin to take effect on a young athlete who is enamored with his many dynamics as a fighter but is a touch naïve about how to conduct himself leading into a championship level five round fight.
This will be a brilliantly contested fight for the first three rounds then at the bell to round four, JDM will separate his skills and effectiveness from Prates. It is not out of the question the eventually in this fight JDM separates Prates from his consciousness, if that occurs I expect it happens in the last couple rounds of this fight when the nectar and nicotine begin to affect the partyman.
Della Maddalena +100
Steve Erceg -340 vs. Tim Elliott +290 Flyweight (125lbs.)
Flyweight number eleven ranked Tim Elliott arrives to this bout off an injury layoff and a change in camps yet again. Elliott, now thirty-nine is coming off of two fights where he beat ranked fighters who were favored over him.
At his best Elliott is a fantastic grappler, he has a wealth of UFC experience as well he’s been in with the elite of the division for a decade now. Elliott’s greatest asset is his unorthodox approach to fighting for he is completely inconsistent with his movements and fights in a ‘herky-jerky’ style that often confounds and perplexes opposing athletes.
The concern I have for Elliott in this fight revolve around how well he can overcome his recent surgery (at his current age) as well the opponent the UFC has chosen for him should represent a great test.
That opponent is Australian fighter Steve Erceg. Erceg shot to the top of the flyweight rankings just after, as a debutant to the UFC he battled then champion Alexandre Pantoja to a decision loss over five rounds of championship battle.
Erceg competed next against top ranked flyweights Kai-Kara France and Brandon Moreno when he should have probably stepped back and improved his game further against less acute fighters as opposed to biting off more than he could chew so early in his UFC career.
Now after a victory over journeyman Ode’ Osbourne, he receives this test against the eleventh ranked Elliott in Perth.
Erceg is taller, longer and nine years younger than Elliott who travels across the world for this fight after recovering from a major surgery. While Elliott is game, unorthodox, and willing he does have to be able to ‘shuck and jive’ in order to evade incoming damage from Erceg in this fight.
So we have Elliott the more beguiling, savvy, cagey fighter taking on a larger, younger, motivated, well-rounded Erceg who fights in front of his brethren in Australia.
This seems like a tough situation for Elliott. Could the UFC be doing to Elliott and Dariush what they have been doing to other mature UFC athletes (see Gil Burns) in that they are allowing younger hungry fighter retire the aged older generation of UFC athlete.
Erceg should win this fight via one sided decision but at this price this fight is a pass.
Total in this fight 2.5 Rds. Over -240
Friday the ‘Bout Business Podcast drops across all podcast platforms and at GambLou.com. Catch all my final releases for UFC Perth there.
Thank You for reading and enjoy the hostilities.