Preview: UFC 270 Prelims

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 270 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Bantamweights

NR | Raoni Barcelos (16-2, 5-1 UFC) vs. NR | Victor Henry (21-5, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Barcelos (-435), Henry (+330)

Barcelos’ UFC career seems to be cursed. An under-the-radar signing in 2017, Barcelos immediately established himself as a fighter to watch, running over opponents on both the feet and the mat in fights that were reliably exciting. Given that the Brazilian was already a seasoned pro in his 30s, it stood to reason that Barcelos should find himself on the fast track to bantamweight relevance. The UFC apparently agreed, but the fates decided to intervene. Over the course of 2020 and 2021, bouts against Cody Stamann, Merab Dvalishvili and Raphael Assuncao, any of which would have provided an opportunity for Barcelos to score an important win, all fell through due to various reasons. That left Barcelos to face Timur Valiev in June. It was a bout against a talented but underrated opponent that was all risk and little reward for the Brazilian. Indeed, that was where Barcelos’ winning ways came to an end. Barcelos depends on feeling out his opponents early and taking over the fight later on, but Valiev’s speed and athleticism prevented him from gaining any momentum and resulted in a narrow decision loss. Naturally, Barcelos’ attempt at a rebound victory has seen opponent and date changes over the course of the last several weeks, and he lands here in a bout against a promotional newcomer. Henry is another Barcelos opponent who is tougher than his reputation, as “La Mangosta” has over a decade under his belt as a pro fighter, including stints in Japan for both Pancrase and Rizin Fighting Federation. As a result, Henry is quite well-rounded and consistently dangerous. He is at his best on the mat but also provides some knockout power against his less defensively stout opponents. Barcelos does figure to be a difficult first entry for Henry. There are wins on the UFC roster for a vet like him, but Barcelos has a clear horsepower advantage that is backed up with durability, which should allow him to get the ball rolling in short order. With that said, Henry has enough savvy that he should be able to survive three rounds. The pick is Barcelos via clear decision.

Continue Reading » Maddalena vs. Rodriguez