Preview: UFC on ESPN 19 Prelims

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Bantamweights

NR | Louis Smolka (16-7, 7-7 UFC) vs. NR | Jose Alberto Quinonez (8-4, 5-3 UFC)

ODDS: Smolka (-135), Quinonez (+115)

Over the course of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America,” it looked like Quinonez had some star potential, but that never quite materialized. First, “Teco” lost the tournament final to Alejandro Perez, then long stretches of inactivity kept him from gaining much momentum amid a four-fight winning streak. Quinonez has thankfully been more active in recent years, but his window for a huge move up the bantamweight ladder has shut, as one-sided losses against Nathaniel Wood and Sean O'Malley have seen him get lapped by a new wave of prospects. However, Quinonez is still an entertaining veteran and a solid hand, and he should be able to do well here. Smolka was on his way to top contender status as a flyweight before a shocking loss to Brandon Moreno in 2016, at which time everything fell apart for the Hawaiian, who slid out of the UFC on a four-fight losing streak. Smolka eventually recovered—he kicked some substance-abuse issues in the process—and made it back to the Octagon as a bantamweight, where he has looked decent ever since. Smolka was never particularly physical to begin with, so while he is not much of a quick-twitch athlete as a bantamweight, he has improved technically as a boxer and still has his reliably effective submission skills. When he is faced with someone raw, Smolka is capable of absolutely tuning up his opponent. Quinonez is not raw, however, and the Mexican should be able to use his usual approach of bouncing around and trying to be slick on the feet. He is the much quicker fighter, and Smolka does not provide the sort of knockout danger that has typically been needed to throw Quinonez off his game. The pick is Quinonez via decision.