Former Tennessee Volunteers football player and current sixth-ranked UFC light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux will be back in Nashville, Tennessee, Saturday night. OSP will have a great opportunity to earn a title shot when he faces No. 4 Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 73.
In the co-main event, there's an equally compelling lightweight tilt featuring Beneil Dariush and Michael Johnson. The winner of this bout will almost certainly find himself ranked in the top 15.
When: Saturday, August 8 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
TV: Fox Sports 2 for preliminaries and Fox Sports 1 for main card
Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass for early prelims
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
OSP Will Smash Through Teixeira
Saint Preux always fights with a ton of energy. Competing in front of Vols fans will only amp him up more. Teixeira is a tough customer who has excellent power and a rarely used background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
To have an opportunity to beat OSP, Teixeira needs to take the fight to the ground. Despite the big power the Brazilian possesses in his hands, he doesn't have the quickness, explosiveness or length to beat OSP in a stand-up battle.
OSP will enjoy a four-inch reach advantage against Teixeira in the fight. It's also clear from this Instagram post that OSP isn't lacking in the power department himself. This is 300 pounds on the hang and clean:
Teixeira usually doesn't look to grapple much. He averages just 2.32 takedowns per 15 minutes in the Octagon. In the event Teixeira does decide to go for the takedown, OSP has the takedown defense (66 percent) to thwart his opponent's advances.
This one should be over in the first round as both men look to see whose striking game is superior. Look for OSP to score another definitive victory via stoppage.
Dariush Will Open Eyes With Win
The world is about to find out just how good Dariush is when he beats Johnson in the co-main event. Johnson is a talented and respected fighter at 155 pounds, but Dariush has shown such rapid improvement and excellence on the ground, he's the smart pick to come up with a second-round submission win over Johnson.
Everything Dariush does is set up by his advanced submission skills, but he's not a one-trick pony. He proved he's able to hold his own in stand-up when he faced dynamic kicker Daron Cruickshank in March. He outlanded Cruickshank 27-17 before submitting him via rear-naked choke in the second round.
That win was impressive, but it was nothing compared to what he did in his next fight. Just a month later, Dariush stepped in on short notice and took on respected and dangerous UFC veteran Jim Miller.
The latter is known for his ground game, but Dariush didn't just match him on the mat; he also got the better of him with excellent transitions and overall high-level grappling.
When Dariush faces Johnson, he'll be taking on another red-hot fighter. Both men have won four fights in a row, but Dariush's overall game is more well-rounded, and he's headed for the top 10. This win will be the one that hips the world to his legitimacy at 155 pounds.
Now or Never for Uriah Hall
Uriah Hall has the perfect opponent to show off his dynamic striking and finally begin to live up to the enormous hype that surrounded him during his time on the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Hall faces Oluwale Bamgbose, a talented, athletic, energetic and dangerous striker who is making his UFC debut. These two men are similar athletes, and that presents an opportunity for Hall to shine against an opponent who can potentially bring out the best in him.
You might be looking at this funny because I'm comparing someone to Hall athletically. Take a look at Bamgbose for yourself in this quick and devastating win over Brian Booth in June. Notice the crowd chanting "UFC! UFC!" at the end.
You might have watched that and said to yourself, "Heck, I think he's going to beat Uriah." You might be right, but this prediction is banking on Hall's experience seeing him through. Bamgbose has had just five pro fights. That said, this is likely just the beginning of his run in the UFC.
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