UFC Glasgow Preview, Betting Tips, and Odds
The UFC’s Octagon is in Scotland this Sunday for UFC Fight Night 113. Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson is the main attraction, as the grappling prodigy headlines the card against Argentinian Santiago Ponzinibbio. With “Gunni” ranked as #8 and “Gente Boa” #14, it is a high-level matchup on European soil.
There is also a firecracker of a co-headliner as Scottish Muay Thai champion Joanne Calderwood takes on the scrappy American prospect Cynthia Calvillo.
Let’s take a closer look at the 12 fights going down at the the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Early Prelims
Leslie Smith (9-7-1) vs. Amanda Lemos (6-0-1)
Smith will aim to win back-to-back fights for the first time since joining the UFC. The thirty-four-year-old was due to face Lina Lansberg until an injury forced the Swede to withdraw. Instead, the Peacmaker battles Lemos who makes her UFC debut. The Brazilian is an unbeaten and holds the Jungle Fights bantamweight belt.
Brett Johns (13-0) vs. Albert Morales (7-1-1)
Welshman Johns has won the bantamweight title in Cage Warriors and Titan FC and will look to maintain his perfect record in Glasgow with a follow-up to his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 99 last November. Morales joined the UFC as an unbeaten 6-0 prospect and has since had one win, one draw and one loss. The twenty-six-year-old narrowly outpointed Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 209 and will look to spoil the Welsh fighter on Sunday evening.
Prelims
Danny Henry (10-2) vs. Daniel Teymur (6-0)
Danny Henry was the final Scottish fighter added to the card. The featherweight is the current EFC Featherweight Champion and will look to successfully transition into the UFC. Sweden’s Daniel Teymur is the older brother of fellow UFC star David. The Allstars Training Center fighter will make his UFC debut after winning six out of six, with all victories coming inside the first round. The Teymurs have an exciting and effective striking style, and it will Daniel’s turn to show the world the best of Swedish standup.
Charlie Ward (3-2) vs. Galore Bofando (4-2)
SBG Dublin’s Charlie Ward makes his second Octagon appearance despite losing in fifty-three seconds at UFC Belfast in November. He will look to put together a performance to prove his worth to the UFC. Galore Bofando makes his UFC debut nearly two and a half years after his last fight against Kes Mamba. A bit of an oddball fight of less experienced fighters, but could be an entertaining one.
Alexandre Pantoja #14 (17-2) vs. Neil Seery (16-12)
Alexandre Pantoja is currently on a ten fight winning streak, dating back to 2010. The Brazilian is a submission specialist and defeated Mexican prospect Brandon Moreno by rear-naked choke in The Ultimate Fighter. Seery is the second Irish fighter on the card and is more than overdue to return to action fourteen months after his loss to Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night 87. The thirty-seven year old has stated this will be his last fight in mixed martial arts after two fights with Ian McCall fell through. Seery has the ability to step-up and perform, and if all goes well the Irishman will head into retirement with a win.
Danny Roberts (13-2) vs. Bobby Nash (8-2)
Roberts won his first two fights in the UFC with victories over Nathan Coy and Dominique Steele before losing to Mike Perry in a thrilling fight at UFC 204 in Manchester. Nash lost in a thrilling fight in his UFC debut to Jingliang Li at UFC on FOX 23, and will be looking for redemption in Glasgow.
Main Card
James Mulheron (11-1) vs. Justin Willis (4-1)
Mulheron got the call up to replace fellow Brit, Mark Godbeer after impressing as the Made 4 The Cage Heavyweight champion. With a sole loss to Ruben Wolf on his record, Mulheron recently avenged that defeat, outpointing the Austrian in February. Willis finally makes his Octagon debut after withdrawing from UFC 208 due to weight cutting issues. Willis has fought in Japan as well as under the World Series of Fighting banner, and will look to make the wait worthwhile in Glasgow.
Paul Craig (9-1) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (6-2)
Craig found himself on the brink of the top fifteen at 205lbs before losing to Tyson Pedro at UFC 209. The Scottish submission expert is the former BAMMA light heavyweight champion and will look to return to winning ways in front of a partisan crowd. Rountree finished as the runner up of The Ultimate Fighter Season 23 and after losing in the final to Andrew Sanchez, he went on to lose his second Octagon appearance to the aforementioned Pedro. He returned to winning ways with a knee-knockout in just 52 seconds over Daniel Jolly in February.
Jack Marshman (21-6) vs. Ryan Janes (9-2)
The second man flying the Welsh flag, Jack Marshman will look to return to winning ways after his loss to Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 105. The former Cage Warriors middleweight champion is taking on Ryan Janes, a submission. The Canadian has won seven of his nine victories by submission. The “Hammer” has shown power and TKO’s a Swedish rising star in Magnus Cedenblad, and the Welsh fans in Scotland will have something to cheer for as their man gets his hand raised here.
Stevie Ray (21-6) vs. Paul Felder (13-3)
Stevie Ray cemented his case as one of the UK’s best lightweights with his decision victory over lightweight veteran, Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 108 in April. The twenty-seven-year-old has won five of his six Octagon appearances and will look to climb into the top 15 with another win.
Paul Feder is 5-3 since joining the UFC following his reign as the CFFC lightweight champion. He comes into the fight after a performance of the night victory over Alex Ricci at UFC Fight Night 105 in February. The Irish Dragon is a devastating striker and this should be an entertaining fight. The odds on close in this matchup, and I like the American to get a close decision in this one.
Cynthia Calvillo #14 (5-0) vs. Joanne Calderwood #8 (11-2)
Calvillo has come out of nowhere to be on of UFC’s stars on the rise. The California based fighter has had her first two Octagon appearances have appeared on the PPV portions of UFC 209 and UFC 210. She performed, taking out Amanda Cooper and Pearl Gonzalez. The twenty-nine-year-old will have her hands full with a true veteran of the game in Joanne ‘Jo Jo’ Calderwood. The most prominent Scottish representative on the card is coming off of a loss to Jessica Andrade, which ended a solid two fight winning streak.
Gunnar Nelson #8 (16-2-1) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio #14 (24-3)
Icelandic submission specialist Gunnar Nelson is a big favorite. Gunni looks to make it three consecutive victories following his loss to welterweight title challenger, Demian Maia. Six of Nelson’s seven Octagon victories have come by way of submission and this marks the second occasion he has headlined a UFC event, after UFC Fight Night 53 in Stockholm back in 2014.
Santiago Ponzinibbio has won four bouts in succession, dating back to his December 2015 stoppage of Swede Andreas Stahl. The Argentinian is considered to be the nation’s best hope of UFC gold. He trains at Team Nogueira alongside Anderson Silva and will be looking to stun the crowd in Glasgow and make a move towards the top ten at 170lbs.
Nelson has boasted about his fight camp, and is in fantastic shape and good state of mind. In the 5-round headliner, the Mjolnir fighter will have time to get the fight to the ground and finish with another submission. I like the favorite as the safe play here.
About Ryan O’Leary
Ryan O’Leary is an established MMA journalist and commentator. The Swedish-based writer also founded MMAViking.com, which is the premier source for Nordic mixed martial arts news and rankings.
