UFC Fight Night 102: Albany, NY

UFC 205‘s grand spectacle at Madison Square Garden may have grabbed all of the media spotlight, but the world’s premier MMA promotion returns for its sophomore outing in the Empire State on December 9th. This time, the UFC will touch down in the state capital, Albany, for UFC Fight Night 102. New York Fighting took the time to break down the main event fight and undercard matches featuring fighters with ties to the New York area.

Main Even: Derrick Lewis (16-4) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (17-3)
Some fans scratched their heads when the UFC announced a main event featuring two heavyweights barely scratching the top 10 in their division. The reality, however, is that the UFC Heavyweight division is starved for talent and fresh title challengers, and both fighters in this matchup are riding modest winning streaks. The winner, especially if it is Lewis, could earn a title eliminator with an impressive performance.
Lewis is a hulking brawler whose sole intent is to throw his heavy hands. In his last fight – a contentious split decision over Roy Nelson – Lewis landed several hard shots on the feet but was taken down hard with some basic trips from the clinch. Roy Nelson is not known for his wrestling, so this would normally not bode well for Lewis’ prospects, but Abdurakhimov is not a grappling-centric fighter. A native of Dagestan, Russia, the 35-year-old Abdurakhimov has landed only one takedown in his UFC tenure and has been knocked out in the past. While Lewis showed some gaping holes in his MMA game in his last fight, his durability was also on display. Expect Lewis to withstand Abdurakhimov’s offense before connecting with his hands for a TKO victory in the second round.
Gian Villante (14-7) vs. Saparbek Safarov (8-0)
Long Island native Gian Villante is featured on the main card of the Fight Night event, where he will take on Saparbek Safarov, a UFC newcomer who stepped up on short notice as a replacement for the injured Patrick Cummins. MMA fans in the tri-state area are very familiar with the former Ring of Combat champ Villante, who since entering the UFC has become known for entertaining slugfests and tremendous displays of heart. Villante is known primarily for his willingness to trade, and his heavy kicks, but has a deceptively strong wrestling game to back it all up.
There is little information available on the Ukranian Safarov, who makes his UFC debut on short notice in this fight. He brings a record on 8-0 on the Russian circut with all wins by stoppage – a mixture of submissions and TKOs. He is perhaps best known for once having a fight cancelled after exchanging open hand strikes with a would-be opponent during a weigh-in. At the end of the day, he is fighing Villante very close to home turf, and on short notice. Villante was getting ready for a very tough opponent in Cummins, and should be better prepared as far as conditioning and skillset is concerned. Look for Villante to earn a TKO stopage in this one.
Corey Anderson (8-2) vs. Sean O’Connell (17-8)
Illinois native Corey Anderson may not hail from the great state of New York, but the former Division II wrestling All-American trains with the Ricardo Almeida / Renzo Gracie teams in New York and New Jersey, and is therefore included in this breakdown. The man nicknamed “Beastin 25/8” is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Pride FC legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Anderson has evolved considerably since winning his season of The Ultimate Fighter, particularly in his striking and submission defense. His wrestling remains among the best in the UFC Light Heavyweight division, and he has improved visibly in each fight. The knock on Anderson has been, on occasion, his conditioning, but he does have four UFC victories by decision.
O’Connell is known perhaps more for his entertaining weigh-in antics than his actual performances in the cage, but will face the stiffest test of his career in Anderson. He is coming off of two losses, neither of them controversial. O’Connell does not have an extensive martial arts background prior to MMA, which he took up after completing his college football career. He is something of a jack of all trades, and showed tremendous fighting spirit in his split decision loss to Gian Villante. Expect Anderson to overwhelm O’Connell with his superior wrestling and overall improving MMA game. If the finish does not materialize, this should be a 30-27 decision for “Beastin 25/8.”
Randy Brown (8-1) vs. Brian Camozzi (7-2)
New York’s own Randy “Rudeboy” Brown returns to the Octagon for the fourth time in 2016 to take on UFC debutant Brian Camozzi. Both fighters in this contest were selected by Dana White on his “Lookin For A Fight” web series, so expect a fair amount of media attention for this one.
Brown, also a former Ring of Combat champion, is coming off a guillotine choke submission victory over Erick Montano in his last Octagon appearance – his first finish in the UFC. “Rudeboy” is often characterized as a striker, and while he prefers to fight on the feet he has shown equal finishing skills both standing and on the ground. He excels at controlling the range on the feet and dominating in the clinch, while his grappling game is very submission-oriented. Anchored at the Budokan Martial Artis Academy, Brown also trains and spars under the guidance of Sensei Nardu Debrah at the Renzo Gracie Academy, Bellmore Kickboxing, and Long Island MMA.
Camozzi is the younger brother of UFC veteran Chris Camozzi, and makes his UFC debut in this fight. He has shown a penchant for the submission game in his recent fights, though the fight where he was featured on “Lookin For A Fight” was one that he won by KO from a knee strike. Camozzi fights tall at 6’2″, although he will give up an inch in height to Brown in this one. In fact, size may be a key to this fight. Many of Camozzi’s opponent’s on the RFA circuit appear to have been somewhat undersized, and that certainly will not be the case with Brown. After a brief feeling out process, expect Brown’s technique, stature, and big fight experience to take control and get the TKO over a game Brian Camozzi.
Frankie Perez (10-2) vs. Marc Diakiese (10-0)
Former Ring of Combat standout Frankie Perez returns to the Octagon after a brief semi-retirement that he announced after his last UFC fight (a victory), to take on the highly touted English prospect Marc Diakiese. Perez is most remembered for knocking out Sam Stout at UFC Fight Night 74 in impressive fashion, but then announcing that he was stepping away from MMA. Clearly something has changed his mind, because he steps back for a challenging fight. Despite the recent KO victory, Perez is a Ricardo Almeida product and is known for a tricky Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game that has yielded him many victories with various types of chokes.
Diakiese had received a lot of praise from the UK MMA media prior to his UFC debut this past October, where he walked away with a TKO victory over Lukasz Sajewski. He brought a diversity of strikes on the feet and mixed up his attacks well, but also showed some holes and had difficulty earning his eventual finish. His ceiling remains very high, but at just 23 years of age, Diakiese is still a bit green. In this fight we are picking the mild upset, as we expect Frankie Perez to come out fresh and bring an inspired performance, to land one of his trademark chokes.
Keith Berish (5-0) vs. Ryan Janes (8-1)
Lost in the shuffle of more prominent fighters is Keith Berish, a native of Poughkeepsie, NY, who makes his UFC return on this card after an unfortunate debut. He takes on Ryan Janes, who is making his UFC debut. Representing Black & Blue MMA, Berish’s last fight was his UFC debut back in 2014, where he fell victim to a rear naked choke at the hands of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion Robert Drysdale. The fight, however, was changed to a No Contest when Drysdale failed a test for performance enhancing drugs. Berish will get a fresh start of sorts in his backyard agains Janes, who hails from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Janes was supposed to make his UFC debut on the recent card in Victoria, but his opponent pulled out after a failed drug test of his own. Both fighters are grappling-oriented, but Berish appears to have better wrestling and a solid top game, so expect him to take a decision victory on fight night.

Writer: Kyle Antonelli