Deiveson Figueiredo makes a quick turnaround as he defends the UFC flyweight title against Brandon Moreno at the main event of UFC 256 which will take place on Saturday night at the UFC”s APEX Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The event will also feature the return of Tony Ferguson who will take on Charles Oliveira in the co-main event. Meanwhile, the winningest fighter in the APEX in Kevin Holland will return to the silent arena to take on veteran Jacare Souza in a three-round bout.
But before these big fights happen, an exciting prelims undercard will open the show on December 12th. The undercard features the likes of Cub Swanson, McKenzie Dern, Tecia Torres, and Chase Hooper. Let’s take a look at the prelims undercard and pick our winners:
Cub Swanson is one of the most veteran fighters in the UFC. He has been fighting since 2004 and began his career with KOTC and WEC. Swanson has been with the UFC since 2011 and he won six of his first seven bouts. He holds the record for most post-fight bonuses in the featherweight history with 8. The 37-year old from Palm Springs, California is coming off a win over Kron Gracie. Prior to that though, he lost four consecutive bouts. Swanson is 5-8 tall with a reach of 70 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. His record is 26-11 with 11 knockouts and four wins via submission.
Daniel Pineda is the former Fury FC and Legacy Fighting Championship featherweight champion. The 35-year old from Houston, Texas has also fought for the PFL, Bellator, and EliteXC. This is Pineda’s second tour of duty with the UFC as he was released after going 3-4 from 2012-2014. After his two fights at PFL were overturned to a no-contest due to a drug violation, he returned to the UFC last August where he scored a TKO win over Herbert Burns. Pineda is 5-7 tall with a reach of 69 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. He has a record of 27-13 with 9 knockouts and 18 submissions.
There’s no question that Cub Swanson has declined but that doesn’t mean he isn’t good enough anymore. His recent losses have been due to good opponents more than to him being past his prime. If you take a look at his record, he hasn’t lost to a bad fighter in a long time. However, Pineda is also a veteran who faced top-notch competition before. He has the stopping power, ground skills, and toughness that will present problems for Swanson. Pineda’s weakness has been good wrestlers and Swanson isn’t one.
Prediction: Daniel Pineda
Mackenzie Dern is the 11th ranked strawweight in the UFC. The 27-year old from Los Angeles, California is an ADCC and no-gi BJJ world champion. Dern has a 75-25-1 career grappling record. She started her career with Legacy FC and LFA before joining the UFC. Dern won her first seven MMA bouts before losing to Amanda Ribas at UFC Fight Night 161. She has won her last two fights and has a record of 9-1 with six submission wins. Dern is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-4 tall with a reach of 63 inches.
Virna Jandiroba is the 13th ranked strawweight in the promotion. The 32-year old from Bahia, Brazil is a former Invicta FC strawweight champion who joined the UFC last year. Jandiroba lost to Carla Esparza in her UFC debut but has bounced back to win her next two fights, submitting Felice Herrig at UFC 252 in her most recent octagon appearance. She is 5-3 tall with a reach of 64 inches and is an orthodox fighter. Jandiroba has a record of 16-1 with 13 submission victories.
Jandiroba may not have the same grappling accolades as Dern but she is the better wrestler between these two. Jandiroba is a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu player in his own right and that should keep her out of danger. As for Dern, we’ve seen so many grappling stars have trouble when they are put on their back, and given Jandiroba’s skills, she could do that and more to offset Dern’s game. On the feet, Jandiroba dominates this fight although Dern looks to have more power. I don’t see this as a striking battle. It will be a grinding affair in which the better wrestler wins.
Prediction: Virna Jandiroba
Gavin Tucker is a former Extreme Cage Combat featherweight champion who joined the UFC in 2017 with a 9-0 record. The 34-year old Canadian is 3-1 inside the UFC octagon and heads to this fight with back to back wins over Seung Woo Choi and Justin Jaynes. Tucker is a southpaw who stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 66 inches. He has a record of 12-1 with four knockouts and six wins via submission.
Billy Quarantillo is the former King of Cage lightweight champion who appeared in the Contender Series last year. After earning a UFC contract, Quarantillo won his first three Octagon appearances. In his last bout, he knocked out Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 10. He is 5-10 tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance. Quarantillo has a record of 15-2 with six knockouts and five wins via submission.
Tucker should like this matchup because Quarantillo isn’t a tough man to put down. With his cardio issues fixed, he should be able to overpower Quarantillo on the mat. But while Quarantillo isn’t difficult to take down, keeping him there won’t be a walk in the park and it could cost Tucker his cardio. On the feet, Quarantillo’s pressure and output will be trouble for Tucker. The difference in reach and volume on the feet will be the difference here. I like Quarantillo to win.
Prediction: Billy Quarantillo
Tecia Torres is the 9th ranked strawweight in the UFC. The 31-year old from Fall River, Massachusetts is a former strawweight champion at MMA Solutions Global and US Freedom Fighter Championships. The Tiny Tornado won five out of her first six UFC bouts but lost her next four. She bounced back with a win over Brianna Van Buren last June. Torres is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-1 tall with a reach of 60 inches. Her record is 11-5 with one win via submission.
Sam Hughes fought for XKO and Excitefight before heading to the LFA. She won two of three fights in that promotion, beating Danielle Hindley in her last bout. The 28-year old from Everett, Washington is 5-1 with one knockout and three wins via submission. She is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-5 tall with a reach of 64 inches.
Hughes is an interesting prospect. She had the ability to finish her opponents on the ground and her feet. However, she relies too much on her durability to put pressure o her opponents. But Torres is the much faster fighter between the two. She should be able to hold her own in the clinches and land more strikes to win on points. There’s a thin line between winning and losing this fight for Torres but she should be able to do enough damage to win a decision.
Prediction: Tecia Torres
Sergey Spivak competed under World Warriors Fighting Championships, Eagles Fighting Championship, and Real Fight Promotion. Spivak is a former World Warriors Fighting Championships heavyweight champion who joined the UFC after two successful title defenses. In his last fight, Spivak defeated Carlos Felipe via a majority decision. He is 6-3 tall with a reach of 78 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.
Jared Vanderaa is a veteran who has fought for KOTC, Smash Global, and LFA. He appeared in week 8 of the 2020 Contender Series where he knocked out Harry Hunsucker. Vanderaa has a record of 11-4 with seven knockouts and three wins via submission. Vanderaa is 5-2 in his last seven bouts with four of his wins coming by way of stoppage. He is an orthodox fighter who stands 6-4 tall with a reach of 80 inches.
Vanderaa has a one-inch height and two inches reach advantage over Spivak. But those aren’t going to factor much here because if he stands and strikes with Spivak, there’s no way he is winning a kickboxing battle. However, Vanderaa has an impressive ground and pound and he just needs one takedown to get on top of Spivak and pound him out. Spivak isn’t shy about engaging in grappling exchanges and Vanderaa should catch him at one point and trip him down to the mat. That’s all he needs really. I like Vanderaa to end this fight early.
Prediction: Jared Vanderaa
Chase Hooper fought for COGA before joining the Contender Series in 2018. He made an appearance for CFFC, Square Ring Promotions, and Titan FC before joining the UFC. Hooper beat Daniel Teymur in his UFC debut but lost to Alex Caceres in his last bout last June. He is a 6-1 southpaw who has a reach of 74 inches. Hooper has a record of 9-1 with three knockouts and four wins via submission.
Peter Barrett fought for Cage Titans and CES MMA before appearing in the Contender Series last year where he defeated Sang-Hoon Yoo. The 34-year old from Plymouth, Massachusetts has a record of 11-4 with seven knockouts and two wins via submission. He stands 5-10 tall and has a reach of 73 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Barrett has enough pop in his punches to put Hooper away. He also has more than enough striking skills to win a stand-up battle. But Barrett isn’t that elusive and he is not a hard man to take down. I think that Hooper gets enough clinch opportunities here to drag this fight to the mat over and over again. Barrett’s takedown defense will be tested here and once on the mat, his submission defense too. I can see several takedowns and in one of them, Hooper catches the neck and gets the choke out.
Prediction: Chase Hooper
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