UFC Fight Night 96: Lineker vs Dodson Date: October 1, 2016 Arena: Moda Center City: Portland, OR Featherweight bout: Hacran Dias (-170) vs Andre “Touchy” Fili (+160) Fight Breakdown: The UFC Fight Night 96 prelims on FOX Sports 2 will be featuring a featherweight contest between Nova Uniao’s Hacran Dias and Team Alpha Male’s Andre “Touchy” Fili, with Dias being a -170 ($170 to win $100) betting favorite heading into the bout and Fili being a +160 ($100 to win $160) underdog at Several Bookmakers. Hacran Dias (23-4-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Cub Swanson and looking to get back into the win column over Team Alpha Male’s Fili. Dias is an aggressive fighter who likes to pressure his opponents and be in control of the action. He has solid and improving striking skills, good footwork and striking defense, plus an excellent chin. He puts together some nice two strike combinations, works a good jab and throws solid uppercuts, not to mention precise hooks. The Brazilian has improved his boxing, as well as his kicking game. He throws a mean overhand right and devastating leg kicks, similar to his teammate and training partner, UFC Interim-Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo. Training out of Nova Uniao under the tutelage of Andre Pederneiras, Dias is a well-conditioned fighter who continues to evolve his all-around game. I don’t expect the fact that he missed weight for this contes to effect his cardio, as he looked to be in great shape on the scale. The Brazilian has solid wrestling skills and good takedowns. His takedown defense is solid, as well. He has great strength and balance, so he does a good job of staying on his feet, though when taken down, he is good at working his way back to his feet. The Nova Uniao product is also good at counter wrestling and reversing position on his opponents. He has a very good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, as well, so he is a threat when the fight hits the mat, and the fact that he owns nine of his 23 professional mixed martial arts career victories by submission are a testament to that sentiment. Andre “Touchy” Fili (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) last saw action at UFC 195 five months ago where he suffered a second round knockout against Yair Rodriguez and he will be looking to get back on track with an impressive victory over Nova Uniao’s Dias in this contest. Fili mixes it up well with his striking and moves well on his feet. He is aggressive and enjoys a good brawl, often willing to take two in order to land one of his own. He has a nice kicking game, working solid leg kicks and body kicks, not to mention a solid head kick, which he does a fine job of setting up. “Touchy” is very fast and does a great job of striking from range, as well from inside the pocket. He dishes out a high volume of strikes and is quite effective with them. He is brutal with his knees and loves to implement them in his striking attack. The 26 year old has a good uppercut, works a nice jab and puts together some solid combinations on the feet. He has an effective straight right, as well as a hard overhand right. Fili’s takedown defense is not great, but when taken down, he is pretty good at finding his way back to his feet. Though, he is quite creative and clever on the mat. He has an excellent guard and is dangerous off his back, as he constantly threatens with submission attempts, and is very good with scoring reversals, especially with his hip escapes. The Californian looks for his opponents to leave any opening and he capitalizes on it. His offensive submission game is decent; he is a risk taker who is willing to give up possition to go for a submission. The Team Alpha Male product has decent, developing wrestling skills and does a good job of timing his takedowns. He has a solid offensive submission game, as well, but his submission defensive could use work, as was evident in his bout against Godofredo Pepey, where he made mistakes in his defense of the triangle choke. As far as his ground and pound goes, he is very relentless. He pours it on, doing damage and looking for blood and a finish. Fili’s cardio seems to be hit or miss, so it will be something to keep an eye on in this contest. Gabe’s Call: Dias by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Thoughts: In short, I give Dias a slight edge on the feet and a big edge on the mat. I think he plays it smart, uses his strikes to set up his takedowns and cruises to a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Gabe’s Recommended Play: Dias (-170) 1.7u to win 1u
MMA Veteran Recap: September 2016
