Once again, the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas will host MMA action on Saturday night. UFC on ESPN 12 pits Dustin Poirier against Dan Hooker in a lightweight bout. Poirier is a former UFC interim Lightweight Champion. The co-headliner is a welterweight tilt between Mike Perry and Mickey Gall. You can catch all the action on ESPN. We have the full fight card as well as sports betting thoughts on some of the most important bouts. Let’s see how the UFC odds will be for the Poirier vs Hooker.
UFC on ESPN 12: Poirier vs Hooker Preview (June 27)
Main Card (ESPN)
- Dustin Poirier vs Dan Hooker (Lightweight)
- Mike Perry vs Mickey Gall (Welterweight)
- Brendan Allen vs Kyle Daukaus (Middleweight)
- Gian Villante vs Maurice Greene (Heavyweight)
- Sean Woodson vs Julian Erosa (Catchweight – 150 lbs)
Preliminary Card (ESPN)
- Luis Pena vs Khama Worthy (Lightweight)
- Mara Romero Borella vs Miranda Maverick (Women’s Flyweight)
- Philipe Lins vs Tanner Boser (Heavyweight)
- Takashi Sato vs Ramiz Brahimaj (Welterweight)
- Jordan Griffin vs Youssef Zalal (Featherweight)
- Kay Hansen vs Jinh Yu Frey (Women’s Strawweight)
Luis Pena (8-2, -270) vs Khama Worthy (15-6, +230) brings an enigmatic fighter in Pena. He brings more size than most lightweights, throwing big bombs. However, his strengths are on the ground, where he dominates in the clinch and down on the mat. Once he finds a favorable position on the ground, he likes to drop punishment from his large frame. There are times when he gets a little too proud of himself and ends up losing on the cards.
Worthy comes in having delivered an amazing knockout of Devonte Smith in his UFC debut back in August, bringing the fight to an end in the first round. He likes to use kickboxing to counter until an opening presents himself in the defense to bring the knockout blow. Pena brings pressure but has a bit of a wild approach, which means openings will be there. However, if Worthy is too patient, he may get too far behind on the cards or might end up in the wrong place on the ground. I see Pena stacking up enough points to win.
- Prediction: Pena wins via decision
Miranda Maverick (7-2 -300) vs Mara Romero Bello (11-8, +250) is Borella’s last shot as she has lost three fights in a row. She took Kalindra Faria apart in her UFC debut in 2017, but she has had a hard time since then. She has all the skills on paper, but she does not like to deliver pressure. Instead, she sits back and delivers a punch at a time. Maverick is new to UFC but has been a solid flyweight prospect from Invicta. Maverick’s striking game still could use some improvement, as she likes to use her solid wrestling skills as well as a strong ground game to deliver submissions. Borella should have the edge in strength — but she did lose to Cortney Casey via submission in her last fight. Maverick does not have the skill to deliver surprise submissions and instead has to get control, and Borella should be able to stall her. Maverick likes to bring pressure, but I’m going to take the value that Borella offers and wager that she can stack up enough points.
- Prediction: Borella wins via decision
Philipe Lins (14-4, -115) vs Tanner Boser (17-6-1, -105) might be the most even fight on either part of the card. Lins disappointed in his Octagon debut, losing to Andrei Arlovski. Now he fights just a little over six weeks later against an unusual heavyweight in Boser. Unlike most heavyweights, Boser does not have a power game to rely on. Instead, he likes to strike from range and drive his opponents bonkers as he outpoints them. This is not the stuff of highlight reels, but he can usually win as his opponents simply run out of gas chasing him. He got taken apart by Ciryl Gane, but Lins is significantly slower. Lins will bring more bombs than Boser, so he should win in a grindfest.
- Prediction: Lins wins via decision
