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Sherdog
Preview: UFC on ESPN 62 Prelims
By Tom Feely,
2024-08-21
The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to the UFC Apex with UFC on ESPN 62 this Saturday in Las Vegas. Immediate stakes are lacking, but there is one clear point of intrigue further down the draw. Combat sports veteran Cong Wang makes her anticipated promotional debut and could make an immediate impact in the women’s flyweight division. Outside of Wang’s first Octagon assignment, the bouts are made for violence, either through pure striking matches or battles that were clearly booked with finishes in mind.
Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 62 prelims:
With his first UFC victory finally under his belt, Buzukja looks to start building some momentum. “The Great” took the long road to a UFC contract, fighting on Dana White’s Contender Series twice and getting passed over before getting the late-notice call about a year ago. While Buzukja was clearly ready for his UFC shot, it proved a struggle for him to find his footing in the promotion at first. He didn’t accomplish much in a tough matchup against Sean Woodson , and a sophomore appearance against Jamall Emmers ended with Buzukja suffering a knockout in shockingly quick fashion. He looked much better when given a softer touch against Connor Matthews in March. Beyond the result, Buzukja also showed some new wrinkles as a patient striker from range, pivoting from the fairly straightforward pressure-heavy style he has typically used in the past. Initially slated to face Danny Silva , Buzukja gets a new opponent on about four days’ notice, as Marshall steps in for what’s now a lightweight tilt. Marshall finds himself in a similar spot to where Buzukja was prior to his last win, as “Fire” might have to switch things up after his last two results. Marshall looked sharp in his Contender Series win—which happened to be against Matthews—and his UFC debut against Marcelo Rojo before rough outings against William Gomis and Isaac Dulgarian . Gomis was able to frustrate Marshall with his range and speed, outmaneuvering and picking him off for a lot of their fight, while Dulgarian simply ran through him with his outstanding wrestling skills. It has been a year since the loss to Dulgarian, so the hope is that Marshall can show some new wrinkles himself, as he has also typically been a fairly straightforward pressure fighter who was willing to eat offense. The extremely late notice of this replacement makes it a bit hard to parse, but at the very least, Marshall should be able to lean on his wrestling if he’s anywhere near ready to fight. The pick is Marshall via decision.
It’s good to see Reese back in action after a quick turnaround, since he has consistently been entertaining, win or lose. Reese was a high-upside and low-floor flier when the UFC picked him off a Contender Series win in 2023. With a massive frame for a middleweight, Reese has historically abandoned all attempts at defense in the name of swarming his opponents and hunting for a finish. That worked quite well at first, with Reese racking up six wins to kick off his career—all within the first round and five within two minutes—but it eventually came back to bite him in his UFC debut, as Cody Brundage used a submission attempt from the Texan as an opportunity to knock him out with a slam, once again in under two minutes. A June win over Julian Marquez showed that the result did nothing to dissuade Reese from his usual approach, as he quickly stormed “The Cuban Missile Crisis” for a knockout in 20 seconds. He looks to repeat that trick here against a UFC newcomer. Medina was the most surprising signing on last year’s edition of the Contender Series since the Bolivian lost a fairly one-sided decision without accomplishing much of anything. He did keep walking forward and unsuccessfully tried to make things happen while he ate plenty of offense, and that toughness was apparently enough for UFC President Dana White to be impressed. Prior to that, Medina got by as a capable wrestler and grappler on a regional scene where that made him a standout, so there’s not much to suggest he’ll be ready for the jump to the UFC level. If there’s any cause for optimism, it’s that cutting down to middleweight figures to unlock some physical potential out of what had been an unathletic light heavyweight frame. However, given that he’s facing one of the largest middleweights on the UFC roster, that doesn’t figure to pay dividends in this assignment. The pick is Reese via first-round submission.
This should be an entertaining banger. Ahead of his UFC debut in April, Llontop looked to fit in with the ranks of successful Peruvians who have hit the promotion in recent years. The country has gained a reputation for developing fighters who get through on durability, aggression and strong cardio, and “Goku” certainly fit that mold in his contract-earning win on the Contender Series. With that context, his debut wound up quite deflating. Journeyman wrestler Chris Padilla stepped in on short notice for what figured to be a likely Llontop win. Instead, Padilla got Llontop to the mat and scored a submission within a round. At the very least, that lack of takedown defense doesn’t figure to be a concern against a pure striker in Borshchev. “Slava Claus” manages to run counter to all the typical narratives about a Team Alpha Male fighter, as he’s a fun and crafty striker who has offered little once his fights go to the mat. Borshchev even manages to find himself in trouble on the feet at times. Opponents usually need to have a takedown threat to back things up, but they have found success by simply rushing Borshchev and catching him off-guard before he can prepare a counter. That would be the winning dynamic for Llontop, but the read is that Borshchev will at least get enough time and space to work and land the hardest strikes of the bout as these two trade shots for three rounds. The pick is Borshchev via decision.
It has been impressive to watch Nunes skate by her opponents to mostly have a successful UFC career thus far. “Josi” is shorter than most strawweights but built thickly enough to fight as a viable featherweight, and she takes a fairly one-note approach, swinging power punches while accomplishing little else. That has been enough to feast on the lower stretches of the UFC’s heavier female weight classes. The knockouts dried up after a particularly brutal win in her UFC debut against Bea Malecki , but nobody has been able to stand and trade with Nunes for three rounds and come out the victor. However, Nunes’ flaws finally came back to bite her in terms of results in March. Chelsea Chandler was tough enough to eat Nunes’ offense and pursue her dogged wrestling game, which allowed her to neutralize the Brazilian and come out ahead on the scorecards. Nunes looks to rebound against Cavalcanti, a fellow Brazilian who trains out of and represents Portugal. Cavalcanti has been solid but unspectacular in her professional career thus far. Combined with her relative youth, that’s enough for the UFC to take the flier in a thin division badly in need of some depth. Primarily a striker, Cavalcanti has a bit more technique and patience to her approach than Nunes, though she can manage to strike with a bit of power herself. Cavalcanti has clear size advantage, and the fact that she has some striking technique might make her the smart pick. Still, she has tended to look uncomfortable at times in the face of power and aggression, and Nunes certainly brings that to the table. Add in that Cavalcanti doesn’t seem to wrestle, and this could prove to be a tricky matchup. The pick is Nunes via decision.
Beyond the actual season final, two more featherweights from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 32 cast get a chance to continue their UFC careers. Ramaska figured to get a look coming off the show, if only because the Lithuanian always brings the violence. A lanky kickboxer, Ramaska is focused on pressure and volume, and that approach resulted in the best fight of the season against Bekhzod Usmonov . Of course, mixed martial arts is about more than just striking, and Ramaska’s ground game is a mixed bag. He hasn’t historically offered much in terms of takedown defense, but his size and dedication to activity has at least been enough to frustrate opponents until Ramaska can find his way back to his feet. He will likely need to keep that trend going here against England’s Fletcher, who does his best work as a grappler. Fletcher didn’t show much during the season while losing his first fight to finalist Kaan Ofli , but he put together a solid record on the regional scene. Fletcher is crafty enough that it wouldn’t be a shock if he found a quick submission win, but the read is that Ramaska can run his usual winning game and outlast his opponent over the long haul, particularly since the Englishman has shown some cardio issues in the past. The pick is Ramaska via second-round knockout.
The UFC debut of China’s Wang is quite interesting, as she has the potential to make an impact on the promotion’s flyweight division in short order. A veteran of various combat sports whose career includes a kickboxing win over Valentina Shevchenko shortly before “Bullet” arrived in the UFC, Wang moved to mixed martial arts in 2022 and has hit the ground running. She has been a bit choosy and patient in her striking choices from time to time, but Wang has clearly improved from fight to fight, and her contract-earning win on the Road to UFC series in May was the best showing yet, as she scored a quick and dominant win while even delivering a submission in the process. Welcoming Wang to the Octagon is Leonardo, who finds herself in a familiar role as an underdog on prospect-testing duty. That’s how Leonardo earned her contract in the first place, deflating the hype of Chelsea Hackett on the Contender Series in 2020. The UFC has mostly kept pitting her against standout athletes, with Leonardo usually putting in a tough effort before getting finished, often suffering a major injury in the process. This looks to be another one of those instances. While Leonardo might be a bit underrated at this point, she doesn’t figure to have much of an answer for the rapidly improving Wang. The pick is Wang via first-round knockout.
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