Preview: UFC on ABC 5 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will use a loaded preliminary slate to get reacquainted with Jacksonville, Florida, as UFC on ABC 5 touches downs on Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Welterweights take center stage in the featured slot in one of the more interesting bouts on the card, as eternal fringe contender Neil Magny looks to turn back yet another prospect in the physically gifted Philip Rowe. Beyond that, there are plenty of interesting fights that could go either way between talents ready to make a breakthrough. Lightweights Mateusz Rebecki and Loik Radzhabov look to capitalize on successful Octagon debuts; Gillian Robertson tries to keep her momentum at strawweight going against Tabatha Ricci; and Tatsuro Taira takes on Kleydson Rodrigues in a battle between two of the promotion’s best flyweight prospects. Add in other persons of interest like lightweight Trevor Peek and flyweight newcomer Joshua Van, and there is more than enough to hold our attention.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ABC 5 prelims:

Welterweights

#11 WW | Neil Magny (27-10, 20-9 UFC) vs. Philip Rowe (10-3, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Magny (-165), Rowe (+140)

This matchup is all risk and no reward for Magny, but his willingness to take any fight at any time is truly admirable. That is how Magny earned his standing to begin with. After nearly sliding off the UFC roster heading into 2014, Magny kept up a torrid schedule while improving from fight to fight, to the point that he has been clearly established as the gatekeeper to the welterweight elite for the last few years. Both thanks to his spot on the roster and his willingness to fight everyone, Magny keeps getting tough test after tough test and comes through more often than not due to his tricky skill set. “The Haitian Sensation” uses his long frame to frustrate opponents from range, often luring them into closing the distance and falling victim to his surprisingly strong clinch game. Potent range strikers and stronger wrestlers can blow his game wide open, but a surprising number of fighters have not been able to pass his test, particularly as he has continued to round things out in his last few fights. Rowe looks like a big step back from Magny’s usual level of competition, but “The Fresh Prince” is a tricky opponent in his own right given what he brings to the table. For one, Rowe is a massive welterweight with an even longer frame than Magny, and he also brings a well-rounded set of skills as a striker and a grappler. However, a lot of Rowe’s UFC career has been an exercise in inconsistency. Owing to a particularly weak regional resume, Rowe has essentially had to learn on the job, but he has mostly still coasted by on his physical gifts. His recent wins against Orion Cosce and Jason Witt saw Rowe get outwrestled without much difficulty up until the point that he suddenly turned things around and scored second-round knockouts. Rowe’s December win over Niko Price was a more impressive bit of business, as he had his stretches of inactivity but survived an absolute dogfight. Yet there is still the feeling that Rowe is leaving a lot on the table as far as realizing his championship-level upside. Rowe could match Magny skill for skill—he has the size and power to hang with him from range and win a kickboxing match—but it is still difficult to bank on him pressing his potential advantages, especially as his seasoned counterpart has gotten more dedicated to implementing the clinch on his own and could just grind out a win. It is a tricky fight, but the pick is Magny via decision.

Jump to »
Magny vs. Rowe
Brown vs. Turman
Rebecki vs. Radzhabov
Ricci vs. Robertson
Zhumagulov vs. Van
Peek vs. Mariscal
Emmers vs. Jenkins
Taira vs. Rodrigues
Brundage vs. Dumas