One of the best matchups at UFC 221 is actually on the preliminary card, as Jeremy Kennedy takes on Alexander Volkanovski. The two fighters have combined to go 27-1 in their careers, as Kennedy is unbeaten at 11-0, while Volkanovski is 16-1. This bout is one of four on the FS1 portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a five-fight main pay-per-view card, featuring Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero. Let’s look at Kennedy vs. Volkanovski and UFC 221 predictions.
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Jeremy Kennedy (11-0, 3-0 UFC)
Kennedy has fought three times in the UFC and won by unanimous decision each time. He beat Allesandro Ricci in August of 2016, Rony Jason in March of last year and Kyle Bochniak in July of last year. Five of the first six wins for Kennedy in his career came by stoppage, but he has gone to a decision in each of his last five fights.
Kennedy said recently that he expects a tough first round against Volkanovski. “It’s going to be a tough first round, I reckon, he’s going to try and break me, but I’m going to break him. We’re both going to see who is going to break each other. I’m very confident that I’ll be breaking him.”
Alexander Volkanovski (16-1, 3-0 UFC)
Volkanovski made his UFC debut late in 2016 and knocked out Yusuke Kasuya in the second round. He followed up that win with a unanimous decision victory against Mizuto Hirota in June of last year. The last fight for Volkanovski was in November of last year, as he won a unanimous decision against Shane Young.
Volkanvoski said to The Body Lock that he expects a grinding fight against Kennedy. “I’ve really stepped it up when it comes to the cardio and training hard, just knowing that he is going to try and grind me. Even though I know I can finish it early, I am preparing for the worst.”
Volkanvoski said that he simply has more ways to win than Kennedy. “I wouldn’t say he’s one-dimensional, he’s very good at what he does. But, what’s going to happen when his go-to doesn’t work for him? He’s gotta worry about my hands and all of my other tools. I’ve got so many more tools than him.”
He added when talking to FloCombat that he doesn’t think Kennedy can handle his pressure. "It will be very hard for him [Kennedy] to keep a pressure that three fresh, high-level guys can do... You’re meant to lose in training as well. I try and lose. In saying that, I do really well. It’s hard to beat me, even when it’s three on one."
UFC Picks
This fight has all the looks of a war on the mat and I think Vokanovski will have the slight edge. I will take him to get the win and I also think this fight will go the distance, so I will take the rounds to go over the total.
UFC 221 takes place on Sunday, February 11 at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia but because of the time difference it will be seen live in North America on Saturday night. There are five fights on the main pay-per-view card featuring Yoel Romero vs. Luke Rockhold. There are seven preliminary bouts, with four on FS1 and three on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (Pay-per-view)
Middleweight - Luke Rockhold -140 vs. Yoel Romero
Heavyweight - Curtis Blaydes -170 vs. Mark Hunt
Heavyweight - Tai Tuivasa -300 vs. Cyril Asker
Welterweight - Li Jingliang -200 vs. Jake Matthews
Light Heavyweight - Tyson Pedro -255 vs. Saparbek Safarov
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Lightweight - Damien Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Middleweight - Rob Wilkinson vs. Israel Adesanya
Lightweight - Jeremy Kennedy vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Flyweight - Jussier Formiga vs. Ben Nguyen
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight - Ross Pearson vs. Mizuto Hirota
Bantamweight - Teruto Ishihara vs. José Alberto Quiñónez
Welterweight - Luke Jumeau vs. Daichi Abe
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