Preview: UFC on ESPN 44 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday comes with an interesting batch of eight undercard bouts. Violence is the name of the game in the featured slot, as featherweights Bill Algeo and T.J. Brown seem guaranteed to bring some action, but the jewel of this preliminary slate sits one fight below, as flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Matheus Nicolau each look for a win to elevate them into the title picture at 125 pounds. Further down the lineup, Gillian Robertson’s cut to women’s strawweight brings a high level of intrigue, and a lightweight clash between Lando Vannata and Daniel Zellhuber sticks out as an opportunity for one of two frustrating talents to find his groove.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 44 prelims:

Featherweights

Bill Algeo (16-7, 3-3 UFC) vs. T.J. Brown (17-9, 3-3 UFC)

ODDS: Algeo (-210), Brown (+180)

This looks like a guaranteed banger between two fighters always willing to take the hard road to a win. There is an alternate universe where Algeo learned to leverage his long frame and became a defensively minded striker, but that is not the case in this one. “Senor Perfecto” instead decides to leverage his durability, swamping his opponents with pressure in the hopes that he can outlast them over the long haul. It has worked more often than not, even if Algeo has hit a clear physical wall at times. Brown has followed essentially the same path. “Downtown” is a slow starter who usually attempts to pressure his way into the fight, often eating a ton of damage but marching through it in the name of figuring out some answers. There is not much to analyze, as these two are just going to walk each other down and engage in 15 minutes of high-paced action. Algeo looks to be the more potent striker and is less prone to getting submitted, so he gets the clear nod, though this one is all about the violence. The pick is Algeo via decision.

Jump To »
Algeo vs. Brown
Nicolau vs. Royval
Cummings vs. Herman
Robertson vs. Rodriguez
Zellhuber vs. Vannata
Brasil vs. Gomes
Bolanos vs. Phillips
Pudilova vs. Edwards