Preview: UFC 260 Prelims

The UFC 260 prelims on Saturday are a mixed bag, led by two light heavyweight bouts. The featured prelim sees Alonzo Menifield collide with Fabio Cherant in an interesting clash between two physical talents, while Modestas Bukauskas and Michal Oleksiejczuk both look to regain some ground as top prospects. Meanwhile, a featherweight tilt between Shane Young and Omar Morales represents a guaranteed banger. Beyond those bouts, there is some intrigue for fighters looking to get back on track: Abubakar Nurmagomedov attempts to rebound from a notably disappointing Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, and Omar Morales looks to bounce back from his first career defeat.

Now to the preview for the UFC 260 “Miocic vs. Ngannou 2” prelims:

Light Heavyweight

NR | Alonzo Menifield (9-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. NR | Fabio Cherant (7-1, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Menifield (-270), Cherant (+235)

Two physically gifted light heavyweight prospects go at it in the featured prelim. It took Menifield two tries to earn a UFC contract via Dana White’s Contender Series, but he made up for lost time once he hit the Octagon, scoring quick knockouts of Vinicius Moreira and Paul Craig to cap 2019. However, the situation went completely off the rails for Menifield in his June pairing with Devin Clark. Once Clark survived his opening barrage of offense, Menifield was exhausted to the point of complete ineffectiveness. A step back should have been in order, but Menifield was instead slotted in as a late-notice replacement against Ovince St. Preux. He had a much smarter approach in terms of pacing himself but still eventually got knocked out by the unorthodox veteran. Menifield could definitely use a win here against a promotional newcomer. Cherant almost has the complete opposite problem as Menifield. While “The Water Buffalo” looks to have knockout power, his willingness to wait on a counter and fight at a slow pace has led to his finishing rate drying up as he has faced stronger competition. With that said, Cherant’s game otherwise seems to be filling out nicely. His early-career success showed some solid grappling skills against overmatched competition, and his most recent victory over Myron Dennis showed that he can last 25 minutes. In a fight between two men who lean on their physicality, Menifield’s hot start should be able to overwhelm Cherant, particularly with the Legacy Fighting Alliance champion taking this fight on a few days’ notice. The pick is Menifield via first-round knockout.

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