Jacksonville, Florida, is the site for this week’s installment of UFC on ABC, as VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena will host the promotion’s sixth event in the city. The main event is a featherweight tilt between Ilia Topuria and Josh Emmett, the one-time UFC Featherweight Championship challenger. The co-main event was supposed to be a middleweight bout between Dennis Tiuliulin and onetime LFA Middleweight champ Gregory Rodrigues, but Tiuliulin had to withdraw, so Amanda Ribas and Maycee Barber will meet in a women’s flyweight fight. We have the full fight card along with some UFC betting insights on the two main fights.
UFC on ABC 5: Emmett vs Topuria Preview for Main Cards
Main Card (ABC / ESPN+)
- Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria (Featherweight)
- Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber (Women’s Flyweight)
- Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa (Heavyweight)
- David Onama vs Gabriel Santos (Featherweight)
- Brendan Allen vs Bruno Silva (Middleweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
- Neil Magny vs Philip Rowe (Welterweight)
- Randy Brown vs Wellington Turman (Welterweight)
- Mateusz Rebecki vs Loik Radzahabov (Catchweight – 157.25 lbs)
- Tabatha Ricci vs Gillian Robertson (Women’s Strawweight)
- Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Joshua Van (Flyweight)
- Trevor Peek vs Jose Mariscal (Lightweight)
- Jamall Emmers vs Jack Jenkins (Featherweight)
- Cody Brundage vs Sedriques Dumas (Middleweight)
Josh Emmett (18-3, 9-3 UFC, +265) vs Ilia Topuria (13-0, 5-0 UFC, -320)
Could be Topuria’s springboard to contender status in the featherweight division. He first entered UFC as an injury replacement near the end of 2020, but it only took a couple of months to show that he could handle himself in the promotion. He beat Youssef Zalal on the cards using a straightforward pressure strategy, and he took Damon Jackson apart with body work and then delivered a violent knockout. In 2021, he only fought once, but that bout was an impressive win over Ryan Hall, as he managed his aggression with strategy. In the first half of 2022, though, he missed weight and lost out on a featherweight fight with Charles Jourdain, and he almost got knocked out by Jai Herbert in a one-fight lightweight experiment before coming back. He controlled all the action in a December win over Bryce Mitchell, but he did show potential vulnerability to a power striker.
Emmett also entered UFC as a late injury replacement, but in 2016, and he started his career with a big win. He didn’t progress much as a lightweight, though, so he dropped down to featherweight near the end of 2017, and in that division he had dominant power. He kept knocking down Felipe Arantes in his featherweight debut, which gave him the chance to enter a late-notice slot against Ricardo Lamas, who was on the edge of contender status. Emmett knocked Lamas out in the first round. A knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens led to some facial fractures that could have ended his career, but he came back to knock out Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic, following that up with a win over Shane Burgos despite having torn his ACL. He beat Dan Ige and Calvin Kattar on the cards, but in an interim title fight against Yair Rodriguez in February, Rodriguez’s power and speed led to damage for Emmett – and a submission in the second round. Topuria is similar to Rodriguez in his speed and power, but he is more likely to stay close to Emmett, so this fight will hinge on how long Topuria can absorb punishment from Emmett’s big hooks. With things this close, I’m going with the value.
Final Prediciton: Emmett wins via decision
Bet on Emmett!
Amanda Ribas (11-3, 6-2 UFC, -195) vs Maycee Barber (12-2, 7-2 UFC, +165)
Is a fight that could get chaotic, since both of these fighters employ an aggressive style. Ribas had to sit out for two years to debut in UFC after failing a drug test, but since she came in, she has looked electric. She ran right over Emily Whitmire and then easily beat Mackenzie Dern on the cards. In 2020, she beat Randa Markos and Paige VanZant, but she took a step back in 2021 when Marina Rodriguez knocked her out. That showed the disadvantages in her aggressiveness, although her willingness to take risks paid off against Katlyn Chookagian and Viviane Araujo.
Barber entered UFC in 2018 at the age of 20, and she was able to beat J.J. Aldrich and Gillian Robertson on the cards. She lost badly to Roxanne Modafferi in 2020, injuring her knee while losing too many points on the mat. She also lost on the cards to Alexa Grasso when she came back. Since then, she has won four fights in a row, even though her attempt to become more of a technical fighter has not yet worked. She does add pressure in the later rounds, which has proven to be a winning strategy. Barber has strength, but if she waits too long to bring that power, it might not matter.
Final Prediction: Ribas wins via decision
Bet on Ribas!
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