Sam Alvey will be fighting on short notice, as he takes on Ramazan Emeev at UFC Fight Night 118 on Saturday in Poland. It was supposed to be Trevor Smith taking on Emeev, but Smith had to pull out, so Alvey took the fight with less than two weeks notice. The fight is being held at 185 pounds and that means Alvey had to cut 34 pounds to make weight. Will that make a difference for this fight on Saturday night against a fighter in Emeev who has won 12 of his last 13 fights? This fight is one of eight on the preliminary card, leading up to a four-fight main card which features Donald Cerrone vs. Darren Till.
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Sam Alvey 31-9-1, (8-4 UFC)
One thing we know about Alvey is that he likes to stay active. He has fought seven times in the last 16 months and gone 5-2 in those fights. Some of those wins came against quality opponents, as Alvey defeated Eric Spicely, Nate Marquardt and Rashad Evans.
The concern for Alvey is that he has to cut a ton of weight before this fight. Why the UFC didn’t simply make this a catchweight is a mystery as large weight cutting can be dangerous. Alvey said he thought he could take off the weight in just 10 days. “We’re going to make the biggest weight cut of my life, but we’re going to do it successfully,” Alvey said recently to MMA Junkie.
Alvey said that he has done research on Emeev and that he will be well prepared. “I watched everything I could,” Alvey said, “I know he’s a stud. He’s fought a lot of guys who are like 30-4 or 29-7 who have big winning records. So he’s no joke. I couldn’t take him lightly. I’ve got my idea of what I want to have happen, and I’m going to go out there and try to make it happen.”
Alvey has 18 knockout wins in his career and three submission wins. He has 13 first round finishes.
Ramazan Emeev (15-3, UFC debut)
Emeev is one of the top fighters in Russia. He won the M-1 middleweight title twice and he is 12-1 in his last 13 fights. His last two wins were quality wins, as he defeated Vyacheslav Vasilevsky and Anatoly Tokov.
Emeev has seven submission wins and three knockout victories.
UFC Picks
I am definitely surprised that Emeev is favored in this matchup. If he was facing Smith I would understand but Alvey is a very accomplished UFC fighter. I am concerned about the weight cut and Alvey taking the fight on short notice, but I still think Alvey gets this win. I also think this fight won’t go the distance, so I will play the rounds to go under.
UFC Fight Night 118 takes place on October 21, 2017 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. The main event is a welterweight bout between former UFC lightweight challenger Donald Cerrone and Darren Till. There are four fights on the main card that can be seen on UFC Fight Pass and eight bouts on the preliminary card, also on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Donald Cerrone -155 vs. Darren Till (rounds 2.5 over -180)
Karolina Kowalkiewicz -455 vs. Jodie Esquibel (rounds 2.5 over -275)
Devin Clark -155 vs. Jan Blachowicz (rounds 2.5 over -180)
Oskar Piechota -195 vs. Jonathan Wilson (rounds 1.5 over -125)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Marcin Held -400 vs. Nasrat Haqparast (rounds 1.5 over -170)
Adam Wieczorek -145 vs. Anthony Hamilton (rounds 1.5 under -150)
Brian Kelleher -125 vs. Damian Stasiak (rounds 2.5 over -200)
Ramazan Emeev -150 vs. Sam Alvey (rounds 2.5 over -170)
Andre Fili -180 vs. Artem Lobov (rounds 2.5 over -270)
Aspen Ladd -240 vs. Lina Lansberg (rounds 2.5 over -260)
Josh Emmett -325 vs. Felipe Arantes (rounds 2.5 over -205)
Warlley Alves -285 vs. Salim Touahri (rounds 1.5 over -125)
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