MVP MMA: Adriano Moraes vs Phumi Nkuta Preview & Prediction
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Phumi Nkuta steps in for Muhammad Mokaev after "The Punisher" was forced to bow out with visa issues, taking on ONE Championship standout, Adriano Moraes.
Adriano Moraes vs Phumi Nkuta facts
What time are Adriano Moraes and Phumi Nkuta expected to walk out?
Where is MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano? Intuit Dome, Inglewood, USA
Where can I get tickets for MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano? Click here for the latest ticket information for MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano
How to watch MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano on? UK – Netflix / USA – Netflix
MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano main card
Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano (Featherweight)
Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins (Heavyweight)
Nate Diaz vs Mike Perry (Welterweight)
Salahdine Parnasse vs Kenneth Cross (Lightweight)
Junior dos Santos vs Robelis Despaigne (Heavyweight)
MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano prelims
Namo Fazil vs Jake Babian (Welterweight)
Albert Morales vs Phumi Nkuta (Catchweight – 130 lbs)
Jason Jackson vs Jeff Creighton (Welterweight)
David Mgoyan vs Albert Morales (Featherweight)
Aline Pereira vs Jade Masson-Wong (Catchweight – 130 lbs)
Chris Avila vs Brandon Jenkins (Catchweight – 165 lbs)
Adriano Moraes: Can "Mikinho" wow outside of ONE Championship?
Best known for his epic trilogy with flyweight GOAT, Demetrious Johnson, Adriano Moraes (21-6) makes his first appearance outside of ONE Championship in over a decade come Saturday night. While he’s notorious for a spectacular KO over “Mighty Mouse” in their first meeting, Moraes is actually primarily a grappler, boasting eleven wins by submission to underline this state of affairs. Widely touted as one of the best fighters in the lighter weight classes outside of the UFC courtesy of his bouts with “DJ,” the cracks have been beginning to show for Moraes at the age of 37. In addition to losing the trilogy with Johnson, he’s coming off a brutal KO loss to Yuya Wakamatsu in his most recent appearance.
Phumi Nkuta: "Turbo" replaces Muhammad Mokaev in search of his biggest career victory
Undefeated as an amateur and a professional, Phumi Nkuta (11-0) finds himself in the biggest fight of his career after Muhammad Mokaev was bounced from his matchup with Moraes due to visa issues. A superb grappler with suffocating control ability, Nkuta is clearly extremely talented, but the biggest knock against the undefeated flyweight is his lack of finishing ability. "Turbo" has just four wins by finish in eleven fights, while he's also fought fairly mediocre levels of competition throughout his career to date. At 5'5", he's going to be the much smaller man in this matchup and is also on the wrong end of a 5" edge in reach.
Adriano Moraes vs Phumi Nkuta prediction
Serving as a showcase between two fighters who are primarily grapplers, this one is unlikely to produce major fireworks.
With that being said, given the BJJ chops between the pair, there could be some entertaining scrambles when the action hits the floor. There’s also always the off-chance that their grappling cancels out and they end up banging things out on the feet.
Based solely on strength of schedule, Moraes would appear to be the safer bet. He’s fought stiffer levels of competition and has almost double the amount of cage time; his experience could well win out here. He’s also the bigger man and has the KO power to threaten a finish on the feet.
However, we’re going with Nkuta here. Moraes looked awful in his most recent showing and the undefeated “Turbo” has a significant edge in momentum over the aging Brazilian. The American avoids the submission attempts and controls Moraes on the ground across three rounds to earn the unanimous decision victory.
Prediction: Phumi Knuta to win by decision
