MMA Event Breakdown - UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simon
UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
The UFC is back in the Apex this weekend for a top-ten bantamweight showdown between the “Kung Fu Kid” Song Yadong and Ricky Simon, an emerging force in the division riding a five fight win streak into his first UFC main event. The remainder of the card resembles an LFA offering or perhaps an edition of the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series. It features six debuting fighters and a litany of inexperienced UFC competitors. That being said, there are plenty of action fighters and compelling stylistic matchups, so we have a lot to break down.
Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Hailey Cowan
Fight Odds: -155 Horth vs. +135 Cowan
Weight Class: 135lb. (Women’s Bantamweight)
Jamey-Lyn Horth was a pleasant surprise in my research process this week. Horth is the number one pound-for-pound women’s fighter in Canada with a head-to-head win over the number two ranked woman. Horth also has five of five professional victories inside the distance against a respectable level of competition. Hailey Cowan has struggled to make it into the octagon due to outside circumstances related to opponent changes, weight issues, minor injuries, and the like. Horth is probably the most high quality fighter Cowan has been signed to fight, but she is giving up size and making her bantamweight debut against a fighter in Cowan who missed weight.
If Cowan is able to win, I expect she will need a flash knockdown or a closely contested decision. Horth is a tenacious fighter with dogged aggression, solid ability to recover, and poise under pressure. If her previously injured knee holds up alongside her physicality at 135lbs., I expect we will be introduced to a Canadian force in women’s MMA.
Prediction: Jamey-Lyn Horth defeats Hailey Cowan via SUB3