Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 79, we are going to see a featherweight showdown between two ranked contenders. Bryce Mitchell (15-1) is looking to bounce back after his first professional loss as he takes on “50K” Dan Ige (17-6) in the co-main event.
As mentioned, Mitchell is looking to bounce back after his first professional loss. Mitchell won his first six fights in the UFC to bring him to a perfect 15-0 professionally. That’s when he took on Ilia Topuria last December. Mitchell said that he was really sick but didn’t turn down the fight because he didn’t want to seem like a coward.
He was dominated and submitted by Topuria in the fight. He was then scheduled to face off against Movsar Evloev but had to pull out of the fight with a back injury. Now, Thug Nasty is healthy and he’s ready to mix things up with Dan Ige.
Dan Ige lost his UFC debut but a six-fight winning streak followed that which got him into the title conversation at 145. However, when he was faced with top-tier competition, Ige would go 1-4 in his next five fights. After taking a step back, Ige has regained himself winning back-to-back fights. He will look to make it three in a row tomorrow night.
UFC Vegas 79 Prediction
Dan Ige’s takedown defense is really good and he’s shown that throughout his time in the UFC. He’s going to need that takedown defense tomorrow night because we know that Bryce Mitchell wants to get the fight to the ground. That said, we’ve seen Mitchell make real strides in his striking.
He even dropped Edson Barboza on the feet and fought really strong behind a long jab and kicks. Mitchell fights with a ton of pressure and sometimes we’ve seen Ige a little hesitant to pull the trigger. If Ige keeps the fight standing and is aggressive, I can definitely see him winning the fight.
However, if he’s gun shy, I believe that Mitchell’s pressure, volume, and grappling is going to win out. Ultimately, I believe that’s the more likely scenario. I like Bryce Mitchell in the matchup and I like him to get back on track at UFC Vegas 79.