UFC returns to south Florida for the first time in nearly 15 years on Saturday with a less-than-stellar main event offering. After originally booking a pair of top middleweight contenders in Jacare Souza and Yoel Romero, Romero contracted pneumonia and was forced to withdraw. In steps red hot prospect Jack Hermansson, fresh off a victory less than a month ago, to take on Souza.
While it may be an important fight for the state of the 185-pound division, the appeal certainly dropped given the lack of big names on the marquee. It even prompted ESPN to move this event from its main platform to ESPN+ (9 p.m. ET). Whatever the case may be, the show will go on and there’s plenty of other reasons to be excited about this card.
Souza claims he has been promised a title shot by UFC president Dana White if he is successful on Saturday night, but there’s no clear timeframe for that to take place given the current champion (Robert Whittaker) is recovering from injury and has an interim champ (Israel Adesanya) waiting on his return. Hermansson, meanwhile, could use a signature victory under his belt given the lack of depth he has faced.
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Let’s take a look at the rest of the card with the latest odds from Westgate.
UFC Fight Night 150 fight card
Favorite | Underdog | Weightclass |
---|---|---|
Ronaldo Souza -200 |
Jack Hermansson +170 |
Middleweight |
Greg Hardy -320 |
Dimitry Smoliakov +255 |
Heavyweight |
Alex Oliveira -180 |
Mike Perry +150 |
Welterweight |
Glover Teixeira – 120 |
Ion Cutelaba +100 |
Light heavyweight |
John Lineker -140 |
Cory Sandhagen +120 |
Bantamweight |
Roosevelt Roberts -400 |
Thomas Gifford +300 |
Lightweight |
Takashi Sato |
Ben Saunders |
Welterweight |
Augsto Saki -145 |
Andrei Arlovski +125 |
Heavyweight |
Vima Jandiroba -120 |
Carla Esparza +100 |
Women’s strawweight |
Gilbert Burns N/A | Mike Davis N/A | Lightweight |
Jim Miller -145 |
Jason Gonzalez +125 |
Lightweight |
Angela Hill -550 |
Jodie Esquibel +400 |
Women’s strawweight |
Court McGee -160 |
Dhiego Lima +140 |
Welterweight |
The biggest storyline on this card is the return of heavyweight prospect Greg Hardy, who is also getting co-main event billing. Hardy is coming off a terrible disqualification loss after landing an illegal knee to the head of a downed opponent after going down early in the first round. Hardy said in an interview with MMA Fighting it’s been frustrating to watch the fight over and over.
“It’s frustrating,” Hardy told MMA Fighting. “It’s not difficult [to watch] but very frustrating. I’ve watched it a lot, and believe it or not, the knee is not what frustrates me. The mistakes I made while I was on the ground, my [transitions] on the ground, my underhooks and overhooks weren’t right — just the little basic things that went out the window once it got hot [are what frustrate me]. Once I didn’t get the knockout and the first 40 seconds went by, it’s just like, what do you do then? Those are the things that haunt me.”
Prediction
Jacare vs. Hermansson: It’s tough to pick against Jacare in this spot. He continues to say that he’s been guaranteed a title shot by president Dana White with a win, and at 39 years old, this might be his last chance at gold. The problem becomes that, when looking at his past few fights, his losses are all against the elite level at 185 pounds. Hermansson probably isn’t on that level yet, but the 30-year-old Swede is starting to put together a strong resume. If this fight gets to the ground, it’s likely a toss up, but if it stays on the feet, I trust Jacare’s chin just a little more to hold up in this spot. Jacare via TKO3