Ryan LaFlare is about a 2-1 favorite to defeat Alex Oliveira at UFC on FOX 25 on Saturday night in Uniondale, New York. LaFlare is 13-1 in his career, including 6-1 in the UFC, while Oliveira is 16-3-1, including 6-2-1 in the UFC. The bout between LaFlare and Oliveira is one of four on the FOX portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a four-fight main card that features Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum.
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Ryan LaFlare (13-1, 6-1 UFC)
LaFlare has only lost once in his career, as he was beaten by Demian Maia in 2015. LaFlare fought earlier this year and he defeated Roan Carneiro by unanimous decision. It was the first fight for LaFlare in more than a year. LaFlare has fought seven times in the UFC and all seven of his fights have gone to decision.
LaFlare had been known as a fighter who always finished his fights, as his first seven fights all ended in either knockout or submission, as LaFlare had four knockout wins in Ring of Combat and three wins by submission.
LaFlare will have a definite home crowd advantage fighting at Nassau Coliseum, as he wrestled at Nassau Community College. LaFlare co-owns Long Island MMA in Farmingdale. He said to Newsday that fighting at home is exciting. “To me, fighting in Long Island is the epitome,” LaFlare said. “This is where I grew up. I grew up going to shows at the Coliseum.”
Alex Oliveira (16-3-1, 6-2-1 UFC)
Oliveira has fought a lot more recently than LaFlare, as this will be the sixth fight for Oliveira since February of last year. He is coming off a win against Tim Means in March by second round submission. "I wish I had fought three times already this year,” Oliveira said to MMA Fighting. "If I can fight once or twice more, cool. It’s up to the boss."
Oliveira is known for his striking ability, as he has 10 wins by knockout in his career. Oliveira said that he does not expect this fight against LaFlare to go the distance.
"I have the advantage standing,” said Oliveira, "I think he will try to stand with me a little bit, and when he thinks about it, I’ll grab him and take him to the ground. I’ll use his game against him, wrestling."
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LaFlare is a little taller than Oliveira but he will be giving up about two inches in reach. LaFlare will be coming into this fight with solid preparation, as he just fought in February. Oliveira is a solid striker but he doesn’t have the ability on the mat that LaFlare has and it seems from what Oliviera said that he intends to take this fight to the ground.
This should be a competitive fight but I think LaFlare has the edge on the ground and he definitely will have the edge in crowd support and that could be a factor if this fight goes to a decision. I will look for LaFlare to get the win.
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UFC on FOX 25 takes place on Saturday, July 22nd at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York featuring Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum. There are four fights on the main card on FOX, and nine on the preliminary card, with four on FOX and five on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (FOX)
Kelvin Gastelum -191 vs. Chris Weidman
Dennis Bermudez -200 vs. Darren Elkins
Gian Villante -180 vs. Patrick Cummins
Jimmie Rivera -200 vs. Thomas Almeida
Preliminary Card (FOX)
Lyman Good -200 vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Eryk Anders -120 vs. Rafael Natal
Ryan LaFlare -195 vs. Alex Oliveira
Chase Sherman -237 vs. Damian Grabowski
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Jeremy Kennedy -240 vs. Kyle Bochniak
Brian Kelleher -215 vs. Marlon Vera
Timothy Johnson -215 vs. Junior Albini
Shane Burgos -367 vs. Godofredo Pepey
Chris Wade -285 vs. Frankie Perez
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