UFC Fight Night: Chidi Njokuani vs Carlos Leal Miranda Preview & Prediction
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
Heavy handed welterweights close out the prelims, with Carlos Leal taking on Chidi Njokuani at 170 pounds.
Chidi Njokuani vs Carlos Leal Miranda facts
What time are Chidi Njokuani and Carlos Leal Miranda expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez? Toyota Center, Houston, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Not televised
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez main card
Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez (Middleweight)
Geoff Neal vs Uros Medic (Welterweight)
Dan Ige vs Melquizael Costa (Featherweight)
Serghei Spivac vs Ante Delija (Heavyweight)
Jacobe Smith vs Josiah Harrell (Welterweight)
Zachary Reese vs Michel Pereira (Middleweight)
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez prelims
Chidi Njokuani vs Carlos Leal Miranda (Welterweight)
Ode' Osbourne vs Alibi Idiris (Flyweight)
Alden Coria vs Luis Gurule (Flyweight)
Nora Cornolle vs Joselyne Edwards (Women’s Bantamweight)
Ramiz Brahimaj vs Punahele Soriano (Welterweight)
Philip Rowe vs Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (Welterweight)
Jordan Leavitt vs Yadier del Valle (Featherweight)
Juliana Miller vs Carli Judice (Women’s Flyweight)
Chidi Njokuani: Can "Bang Bang" kickstart another win streak after a submission loss in his last fight?
With fifteen wins by KO in twenty five professional MMA victories, few fighters exemplify their nickname like Chidi “Bang Bang” Njokuani (25-11). Graduating to the promotion via the Contender Series back in 2021, the heavy handed striker would score back-to-back POTN winning first round KOs to announce his arrival with an appropriate bang, before coming up short against Gregory Rodrigues in a nail-biting FOTN. While this result kicked off a three fight skid for the Bellator veteran, Njokuani would rebound with another three fight win streak before losing to Jake Matthews by submission in his last appearance.
Carlos Leal Miranda: "The Lion" returns after one of the more inconsistent string of results in recent memory
A veteran of PFL and LFA, Carlos Leal (22-7) found himself on the wrong end of one of the more egregious robberies in recent UFC history in his short notice debut, coughing up 30-27 scorecards to Rinat Fakhretdinov in a fight that he dominated from start to finish. “The Lion” would rebound with a decisive KO victory over Alex Morono, only to suffer one of the more shocking upsets of the year in his very next appearance. Despite closing as a considerable favorite over the 41 year old Muslim Salikhov, Leal was brutally KO’d in the first round, meaning that few know what to expect from his latest bow in the promotion.
Chidi Njokuani vs Carlos Leal Miranda prediction
With a combined 26 KO victories between the two combatants heading into this one, there’s a strong possibility that the judges’ scorecards won’t be required here.
“The Lion” unquestionably looked incredible against in his debut against Rinat Fakhretdinov. However, an incredibly jacked physique and an acne covered back coupled with the short notice nature of the matchup had many questioning whether PEDs played a factor in Leal’s breakout performance; beating the brakes off a notoriously tough out like Fakhretdinov to get KO’d against a 41 year old Muslim Salikhov two fights later simply does not add up. Those results may have sandwiched a KO win over Alex Morono, but more than one fighter has starched “The Great” without the help of PEDs.
Njokuani may have a reputation for fading after starting strongly, but he still has serious power; a state of affairs underlined by KO victories over durable fighters like Marc-Andre Barriault and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. He might have been submitted by Jake Matthews in his last appearance but the Aussie is known as a solid grappler. Furthermore, Leal has just two submissions on his record, with both of them coming in the early stages of his career on the regional scene.
In short, if the same version of Leal who showed up last time around enters the cage on Saturday, it’s easy to envision a reality where Njokuani detonates something murderous on his chin in the early goings. This take could age like milk given Leal’s power and Njokuani’s history of KO losses to heavy hitters, but the tentative pick is Chidi “Bang Bang” by knockout.
Prediction: Chidi Njokuani to win by KO
