Preview: UFC Mexico Prelims

Featherweights

Jamall Emmers (20-8, 3-4 UFC) vs. Gabriel Miranda (17-7, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Emmers (-340), Miranda (+270)

Emmers is on the short list of most underrated fighters on the UFC roster, but “Pretty Boy” finds himself a bit stuck at the moment. Emmers took the long road to a UFC callup before getting signed as a late-notice replacement in 2020, by which point he had honed an effective game. A wrestler by trade, Emmers developed a counter-heavy striking style that often left him as a tough puzzle for opponents to solve. However, laying back and staying patient didn’t do much to win over the judges in some close decisions, so it’s understandable that Emmers has tried on a more aggressive style that has been a mixed bag. It scored him a quick knockout of Dennis Buzukja that’s probably the highlight of Emmers’ UFC career, but going toe-to-toe with Nate Landwehr just got him knocked out in his last fight about a year ago. Emmers gets a dangerous rebound test against Miranda, whose approach, for all its flaws, has been much more consistent. Miranda gets off to a hot start and blitzes his opponents, primarily hunting for a takedown and subsequent submission. It has worked once in Miranda’s three UFC fights, as he beat Shane Young but tired and got finished by Benoit St. Denis and Morgan Charriere, though the Brazilian did a bit better than you might expect in gumming up the works before he got knocked out. There’s a decent chance Miranda can simply storm Emmers out of the game, but the American looks solid enough to survive and advance here. The pick is Emmers via second-round stoppage.

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Chairez vs. Vergara
Gautier vs. Medina
Rodriguez vs. Costa
Godinez vs. Polastri
Garcia vs. Pichel
Emmers vs. Miranda
Mederos vs. Hubbard