Zak Cummings is about a 2-1 favorite to defeat Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 124 on Sunday in St. Louis on FS1. Cummings will have the edge in crowd support, as he is from Springfield, Missouri. Cummings also looks to be the better fighter, as he comes into this bout with a record of 21-5, while Alves is 22-11. This fight is one of four on the FS1 portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a four-fight main card, also on FS1, featuring Jeremy Stephens vs. Doo Ho Choi. Let’s look at the bout between Cummings and Alves and UFC picks.
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Zak Cummings (21-5, 6-2 UFC)
Cummings continues to impress in the UFC, as he has won six of his eight fights. He took out Nathan Coy last time by first round submission. It was the 11th submission win in his career. Cummings said to Bloody Elbow that he is thrilled to be fighting in his home state of Missouri again. “It’s the second UFC event in history in Missouri. I was on the first one and now I get to be on the second one, so I’m extremely excited about it,” he said.
Cummings said that he has a lot of respect for his opponent on Sunday. “Alves has fought for a title. He’s had so many fights in the UFC. He’s fought the who’s who of the welterweight division. I love his fighting style. I loved watching him fight back in the day, so getting the chance to step up and fight someone like him, I’m extremely happy. He’s a big name and it’s a fight I think I match up pretty well with, so I really couldn’t ask for much more.”
While Cummings has respect for Alves, he doesn’t think Alves is the same fighter he once was. “I haven’t seen much that’s new come out of [Alves]. He’s been pretty much the same fighter for years,” said Cummings. “Unfortunately for him, I feel like he hasn’t evolved with the sport as much as I have.”
Thiago Alves (22-11, 14-8 UFC)
Alves has a lot of experience, as he has been fighting in the UFC for 12 years. He has 14 UFC wins, including a unanimous decision victory against Patrick Cote last time out. That win was critical for Alves, as he has lost his previous two bouts to Carlos Condit and Jim Miller.
Alves is known as a solid striker, as he has 13 knockout wins in his career. It should be noted, however, that most of his knockout victories came early in his career. Only one of his last five wins has come by knockout.
UFC Picks
I think it is always interesting to listen to what the fighters have to say and Cummings said that he just can’t see how Alves beats him. Cummings said he has the edge in both striking and on the ground. I agree with that assessment, as I just don’t see how Alves wins this fight. I will lay the price and take Cummings in this bout.
UFC Fight Night 124 takes place on January, 14, 2018 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, with the headline bout a matchup between Jeremy Stephens and Doo Ho Choi. There are four fights on the main card on FS1 and nine preliminary bouts, with four on FS1 and five on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (FS1)
Doo Ho Choi -165 vs. Jeremy Stephens
Uriah Hall -300 vs. Vitor Belfort
Jessica Rose-Clark -125 vs. Paige VanZant
Kamaru Usman -600 vs. Emil Weber Meek
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Michael Johnson -156 vs. Darren Elkins
James Krause -150 vs. Alex White
Matt Frevola -220 vs. Marco Polo Reyes
Zak Cummings -210 vs. Thiago Alves
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Kalindra Faria -115 vs. Jessica Eye
Irene Aldana -220 vs. Talita Bernardo
JJ Aldrich -135 vs. Danielle Taylor
Mike Santiago -180 vs. Mads Burnell
Kyung Ho Kang -310 vs. Guido Cannetti
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