UFC Fight Night: Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs Felipe Franco Preview & Prediction
Two Brazilian finishers with perfect stoppage resumes clash on the prelims, undefeated newcomer Levi Rodrigues Jr. faces Felipe Franco in a light heavyweight bout.
Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs Felipe Franco facts
What time are Levi Rodrigues Jr. and Felipe Franco expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman? Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 281
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman main card
Dricus du Plessis vs Kamaru Usman (Middleweight)
Jared Cannonier vs Christian Leroy Duncan (Middleweight)
Chase Hooper vs Mitch Ramirez (Lightweight)
Tommy McMillen vs Alberto Montes (Featherweight)
UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs Usman prelims
Tabatha Ricci vs Fatima Kline (Women's Strawweight)
Austin Bashi vs Jose Miguel Delgado (Featherweight)
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs Ko Seok-hyeon (Welterweight)
Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs Felipe Franco (Light Heavyweight)
Alden Coria vs Stewart Nicoll (Flyweight)
RJ Harris vs Alvin Hines (Heavyweight)
Anna Melisano vs Dione Barbosa (Women's Flyweight)
Marc-Andre Barriault vs TBC (Middleweight)
Levi Rodrigues Jr.: “Baby Monster” finally makes his octagon debut
Levi Rodrigues Jr. (5-0, 1NC) walks to the octagon for the first time after a controversial road to the roster. The Brazilian has finished every opponent he’s ever shared the cage with, amateur and pro, walking men down and folding them with power and ground and pound. He blitzed through Freddy Vidal in the DWCS, only for the win to be overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for PEDs, earning a fortunate nine-month suspension. At 29, Rodrigues is all gas no brakes, he swings big on every hit and shows little regard for defending in return.
Felipe Franco: Heavy finisher drops back down to his natural weight class
Felipe Franco (10-2) is a Bahian Jiu Jitsu black belt out of the same gym that produced Jailton Almeida. All ten of his wins have come by finish, split between his power and his grappling. His only two losses have come against decent opposition – a late third-round submission to Freddy Vidal on the Contender series, and a decision to unbeaten heavyweight prospect Mario Pinto, a fight he took on short notice by jumping up a division. Franco is athletic and the more technically rounded man in this match up, he possesses clean and fast takedown entries combined with a decent stand up game.
Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs Felipe Franco prediction
Freddy Vidal, the shared name on both these fighters record worth dwelling on. Rodrigues blew through him in a round with hammerfists in the clinch, Franco took the fight to deep waters only to be unfortunately subbed in the final minute. On the surface, that favours the debutant, but it can be a misleading read. Rodrigues was popped for PEDs in his fight, and Franco is a better takedown wrestler than Vidal. Franco’s entries are cleaner and faster, and his chain wrestling hands him a route to drag this fight into the water he took Vidal.
A lot of this fight hinges on the opening round. Rodrigues fights like a bully – power, pace, and pressure, hunting the early finish and caring little for what comes back. If he gets his way early, he’ll probably run right through Franco. But if Franco manages to weather that early storm, stall out the round with an early takedown, I think the tide can turn in the second half of the fight. Coming off a PED suspension, there are questions that loom over Rodrigues’ gas tank, and Franco has shown he can bank rounds against naturally bigger fighters like Pinto. As the more natural athlete who hasn’t just hopped off a PED cycle, the cardio edge belongs to Franco.
Rodrigues opens as a favourite, but this one feels more like a coin flip than the price suggests, which makes Franco a live underdog. If the finish doesn’t arrive in the first half for Rodrigues, I have Franco taking over and winning late.
Prediction: Felipe Franco to win
