UFC Fight Night: Ben Johnston vs Wesley Schultz Preview & Prediction
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Ben Johnston makes his UFC debut after more than two years on the shelf, squaring off against submission specialist, Wes Schultz.
Ben Johnston vs Wesley Schultz facts
What time are Ben Johnston and Wesley Schultz expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates? RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 275
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates main card
Jack Della Maddalena vs Carlos Prates (Welterweight)
Beneil Dariush vs Quillan Salkilld (Lightweight)
Tim Elliott vs Steve Erceg (Flyweight)
Marwan Rahiki vs Ollie Schmid (Featherweight)
Shamil Gaziev vs Brando Pericic (Heavyweight)
Tai Tuivasa vs Louie Sutherland (Heavyweight)
UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs Prates prelims
Cameron Rowston vs Robert Bryczek (Middleweight)
Junior Tafa vs Kevin Christian (Light Heavyweight)
Jacob Malkoun vs Gerald Meerschaert (Middleweight)
Colby Thicknesse vs Vince Morales (Bantamweight)
Ben Johnston vs Wesley Schultz (Middleweight)
Jonathan Micallef vs Themba Gorimbo (Welterweight)
Dom Mar Fan vs Kody Steele (Lightweight)
Ben Johnston: Can the Aussie score a fairytale win in his comeback UFC debut?
Former Eternal MMA middleweight champion, Ben Johnston (5-1) makes his UFC debut in front of his home crowd, looking to maintain his 100% finishing rate. A two time WBC Muay Thai champion with ties to City Kickboxing, Johnston has a remarkable knack of finding his way to his opponents’ back, scoring rear naked choke victories in four out of his five professional wins. A well-respected name in the Australian MMA community, the X-factor in this match up is arguably “The Blade’s” recent inactivity. The 35 year old retired and moved into coaching more than two years ago; he hasn’t fought in any capacity since.
Wesley Schultz: "Party Time" looks to right the wrongs of a miserable debut
Earning a UFC contract at the second time of asking with a Suloev stretch submission victory on the Contender Series, Wes Schultz (8-3) endured a rough promotional debut, losing to fellow DWCS graduate, Damian Pinas, by first round KO. Schultz isn’t the most athletic fighter that the middleweight division has ever seen, but he compensates for this with a creative and dangerous grappling game, one that has earned him five of his eight wins by way of tap out. “Party Time” has only ever been to the judges’ scorecards twice in his professional career, although he’s also gone out on his shield twice against UFC level competition.
Ben Johnston vs Wesley Schultz prediction
While he’s entirely unproven at UFC level, it’s not outrageous to label Johnston as the favorite here.
Schultz does not like engaging in a stand up war, a bad recipe against a decorated Muay Thai striker like "The Blade." Even if Schultz is able to force the fight into his world on the ground, the Aussie is also a black belt in BJJ; he’s unlikely to be out of his depth. Schultz has the longer reach of the two men despite being the shorter fighter, but given the discrepancy in striking ability between the pair, that doesn’t figure to be much of an issue for Johnston.
And yet. Johnston has not fought in over two years and is 35 years old; that’s seldom proved to be a fail proof recipe for a successful UFC debut. He’s also got considerably less MMA experience than “Party Time” and fought pretty mediocre opposition throughout his time in Eternal; “The Blade” is just one fight removed from beating a fighter who was 0-2 at the time. Schultz might not be the best middleweight in recent memory, but he’s only ever lost to fighters who were legitimately UFC level.
It’s going one of two ways here. Johnston either hurts Schultz badly enough on the feet to stop him outright or lock in a submission, or “Party Time" rag dolls the Aussie and chokes him out. In any case, the judges aren’t going to be required for this one.
Prediction: Fight will not go the distance
