UFC Fight Night 78 Date: November 21, 2015 Arena: Arena Monterrey City: Monterrey, Mexico Bantamweight bout: Scott Jorgensen (-140) vs Alejandro Perez (+120) Fight Breakdown: The UFC Fight Night 78 preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 will be featuring a bantamweight contest between WEC/UFC veteran Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen and The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America Season 1 winner Alejandro “El Diablito” Perez. Jorgensen is a -140 ($140 to win $100) betting favorite heading into this contest, with Perez being the underdog at +120 ($100 to win $120) at Several Bookmakerss. Scott Jorgensen (15-11 MMA, 4-7 UFC) is currently on a two-fight skid and is 1-5 in his last six outings. Coming off a unanimous decision loss against Manny Gamburyan four months ago, he has his back against the wall heading into this battle against Perez on enemy territory in Mexico. “Young Guns” is a talented wrestler who won three Pac-10 titles for Boise State University. He works decent takedowns and has a good ground and pound attack, as he likes to rain down heavy punches and elbows; owning a knocking victory over Ken Stone from said position. When he’s not doing that, he is constantly peppering away with shots to the head and body. He’s wise to the fact that if he is unable to finish at the moment, it would be in his best interest to be scoring as many points as possible. Although he works decent jabs and leg kicks, his general striking game, while improving, is still quite rudimentary. Jorgensen is a well-conditioned athlete, so I expect him to have enough gas in the tank for three rounds of action in Monterrey, if necessary. Alejandro Perez (15-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made his UFC debut against friend and TUF: Latin America Season 1 team-mate Jose Quinonez, defeating him to become the tournament winner. In his second Octagon outing, which came five months ago against Patrick Williams, Perez got caught with an uppercut early followed by a tight guillotine choke that put him to sleep, forcing the referee to halt the action. Now after having had his first taste of Octagon defeat, he aims to get back into the win column with an impressive performance against the veteran Jorgensen in front of his hometown crowd. “El Diablito” has good boxing and possesses power in his hands. He has a dangerous over-hand right and a vicious left hook, which he often likes to lead with, especially with his combinations. He has developed a solid kicking game, too, as he is effective with his leg kicks. The Mexican has good head movement and possesses a solid chin. His wrestling is good, as well, both offensively and defensively. He is good at taking the fight to the mat, as well as defending takedowns and keeping it on the feet. Training out of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, CA, Perez’s cardio is on point and I expect him to be ready for 15 minutes of war, should this scrap see it’s way to the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Gabe’s Thoughts: I think Perez is the superior mixed martial artist of the two heading into this bantamweight scrap and as long as he avoids getting caught again, he should manage to finish Jorgensen, if not cruise to a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. I think he holds a massive advantage on the feet and I expect him to successfully defend Jorgensen’s takedown attempts and keep the fight there, where I expect him to either put Jorgensen away or just outstrike him for 15 minutes of action. I could see him finishing Jorgensen by either T/KO or submission, as I think he could drop him and then sink up a submission, or possibly even secure a submission after scoring a takedown of his own. Needless to say, I think Perez has multiple routes to victory here, whereas Jorgensen’s only chance, in my opinion, is to catch Perez with his heavy hands (which he does posess) or with a submission. If this was Jorgensen in his prime, I would say outwrestling Perez for a decision win was a likely outcome, however I think he is long past his prime and feel like there is a good chance he will hang up his gloves, should he come up short again this Saturday night. Gabe’s Call: Perez by T/KO (punches, 3:48 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Perez (+120) 5u to win 6u
