UFC 239: A Look at the Pre-Lims

UFC 239: A Look at the Pre-Lims

By Jack Maher

UFC 239 has been described as the best MMA card of the year so far, and there isn’t much you can do to argue that point.

There is no doubt the main card is a strong one, so strong in fact that the quality of the undercard has gone largely unnoticed.

The undercard has taken some hits, as a scheduled bout between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera was cancelled due to O’Malley’s issues with USADA, and Michael Chiesa vs Diego Sanchez was moved up to fill a void on the main card, but the preliminary fights are still worth talking about.

Heading up the pre-lims is the clash between former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, and British prospect Arnold Allen.

This will be first time that Allen has had more than one fight a year since 2014, and the Suffolk-born featherweight is doing it in his biggest fight to date.

A pro since 2002, Melendez is struggling for form, having lost his last 4 fights, albeit against quality opposition. A champion in Strikeforce and a two-time title challenger in the UFC, ‘El Nino’ has seen it all, and despite him looking slightly past his best, he’s definitely not completely over the hill.

Melendez comes from a wrestling background but has a well rounded game in general, and will be hoping that his vast experience will help him give Allen problems in all departments, while Allen will be eager to add a big name to his record and finally break the top 15 of the division.

A very late addition to the card, Nohelin Hernandez steps in to replace Sean O’Malley against Vera, in what will be his UFC debut.

Hernandez has a 10-2 record, and trains out of the American Kickboxing Academy. Vera is a very underrated fighter, and has some highlight-reel finishes to his name.

Hernandez doesn’t have the high profile that Vera was likely hoping for, but it’s still a fight nonetheless and ‘Chito’ can’t afford a slip up against a relatively unknown quantity if he wants to stand a chance of getting a big fight by the end of the year.

The undercard of UFC 239 will also host a clash between two veterans of the strawweight division, when Cláudia Gadelha meets Randa Markos in a fight that feels like it should’ve happened already.

Not long ago Gadelha was seen as the divisions nearly woman, just not quite good enough to rip the title away from then champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Gadelha lost her last fight however, and will aim to get back on track against the inconsistent Randa Markos.

Markos has notable wins over Carla Esparza and Angela Hill, but has failed to establish a real winning streak. She can do that with victory against Gadelha however, and both fighters need for a win should hopefully lead to a great fight.

Rounding off the pre-lims, top 15 ranked Alejandro Pérez returns to action against Yadong Song, who has won all of his fights in the UFC so far.

Perez is a very good technical fighter, and it’s highly plausible that ‘Turbo’ will outclass Song over 15 minutes, but don’t be surprised if Song’s aggressive style causes Pérez problems, as Pérez’s recent close decision loss to Cody Stamman probably could’ve been avoided if he’d been a bit more active in the cage.