UFC Fight Night: Rei Tsuruya vs Luis Gurule Preview & Prediction
Luis Gurule makes a swift turnaround to fill in for Jesus Aguilar, taking on Japanese grappling ace, Rei Tsuruya, at flyweight.
Rei Tsuruya vs Luis Gurule facts
What time are Rei Tsuruya and Luis Gurule expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo? Galaxy Arena, Macau SAR, China
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 277
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo main card
Song Yadong vs Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight)
Zhang Mingyang vs Alonzo Menifield (Light Heavyweight)
Sergei Pavlovich vs Tallison Teixeira (Heavyweight)
Kai Asakura vs Cameron Smotherman (Bantamweight)
Alex Perez vs Su Mudaerji (Flyweight)
UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo prelims
Lee Yi-sak vs Luis Felipe Dias (Middleweight)
Ding Meng vs Jose Henrique Souza (Welterweight)
Aori Qileng vs Cody Haddon (Bantamweight)
Angela Hill vs Xiong Jingnan (Women’s Strawweight)
Loma Lookboonmee vs Jaqueline Amorim (Women’s Strawweight)
Zhu Kangjie vs Rodrigo Vera (Featherweight)
Rei Tsuruya vs Luis Gurule (Bantamweight)
Jake Matthews vs Carlston Harris (Welterweight)
Rei Tsuruya: The Japanese prospect looks to rebound from a loss to Joshua Van last time out
Winner of Road to UFC Season 2’s flyweight tournament, Rey Tsuruya (10-1) looks to be an extremely promising addition to the ranks at 125 pounds. A velcro wrestler with eight finishes in ten professional victories, the 23 year old prospect earned a decision win in his debut over Carlos Hernandez before coughing up his “0” to future flyweight champion, Joshua Van, in a hard fought loss where he was still able to ground “The Fearless” on four occasions despite getting pieced up on the feet. Originally scheduled to face Jesus Aguilar, the Japanese fighter now finds himself with a new opponent on little over a week’s notice.
Luis Gurule: Can "Grim" earn his second win in as many weeks?
Returning for his second fight in the space of two weeks, Luis Gurule (11-3) snapped a three fight winless streak against Daniel Barez at the Apex to earn his first win in the promotion last time out. It had been a rough go of things for “Grim” prior to that, dropping his first trio of fights under the UFC banner in a run that included a nasty KO loss to Ode’ Osbourne in his debut and decision setbacks to Alden Coria and Jesus Aguilar. Primarily a striker, the DWCS alum exhibited some solid wrestling in his last outing, besting Barez in all facets of the game in a result that likely saved his job.
Rei Tsuruya vs Luis Gurule prediction
Gurule looked solid in his most recent appearance two weeks ago, producing a convincing victory over Daniel Barez. However, given that the Spaniard is now 1-3 across four fights in the UFC, that isn’t enough to convince me that he’s going to score a second successive “W” here against one of Japan’s foremost MMA prospects.
While his striking leaves a lot to be desired, Tsuruya has shown enough in his short career to demonstrate a lot of promise considering that he’s only 23; the only man who has been able to beat him in his career to date is current flyweight kingpin, Joshua Van. He’s a relentless takedown artist who will shoot until he gets his opponent to the mat and isn’t afraid of sacrificing entertainment value for points on the judges’ scorecards.
Gurule could win this if he’s able to keep the action standing and land the more meaningful shots, but he’s been taken down at least once in all but one of his four UFC bouts to date. He also got taken down no less than ten times during his bout on the Contender Series despite earning the victory. While “Grim” has undoubtedly improved since then, such a statistic bodes ill when faced with a grappler of Tsuruya’s caliber.
Prediction: Rei Tsuruya to win by decision
