On Wednesday, the UFC held a press conference for the upcoming UFC Fight Night 147 card, which takes place March 16 at The O2 Arena in London, England. A number of bouts have previously been revealed for this card, including the main event between Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal and the co-main event between Leon Edwards and Gunnar Nelson, and at the press conference the UFC revealed the latest batch of preliminary bouts.
Joseph Duffy vs. Marc Diakese, UFC Fight Night 147
Lightweights Joseph Duffy and Marc Diakese meet in what should be an exciting bout between two strikers. NewsomeMMA first reported the news that Diakese is filling in for the injured Stevie Ray. Duffy (16-3) is 4-2 in the UFC but hasn’t fought since a 2017 KO loss to James Vick. He is one of the few men to defeat Conor McGregor. Diakese (12-3) is 2-3 in the UFC but those three losses have come in his last three outings. The UFC is giving Duffy a winnable fight here against a very beatable opponent in Diakese, and I fully expect Duffy to open as a large favorite.
Nathaniel Wood vs. Jose Quinonez, UFC Fight Night 147
Rising bantamweight star Nathaniel Wood will aim to continue his win streak when he takes on Jose Quinonez. Wood (15-3) is on a seven-fight win streak overall with submission wins in the UFC over Johnny Eduardo and Andre Ewell. Quinonez (7-2) is 4-1 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision win over Teruto Ishihara. I know Quinonez is on a nice win streak but to me this is a big mismatch and it looks like a fight the UFC booked in order to get Wood an impressive win in front of the English fans.
Danny Henry vs. Dan Ige, UFC Fight Night 147
Featherweights Danny Henry and Dan Ige will meet on this card. Henry (12-2) is on a five-fight win streak and is 2-0 in the UFC with a submission win over Hakeem Dawodu in his last outing. Ige (10-2) is 3-1 in the UFC and defeated Jordan Griffin via decision in his last bout. Although Ige has been solid in the UFC, I think Henry has the higher ceiling and I would tend to favor him here.
Nad Narimani vs. Mike Grundy, UFC Fight Night 147
Top featherweight prospect Nad Narimani returns at this even when he takes on UFC newcomer Mike Grundy. Narimani (12-2) is on a five-fight win streak and is 2-0 so far in the UFC. Grundy (11-1) is a veteran of ACB and is riding an eight-fight win streak into this event. Grundy has an impressive record but given the level of competition I’d have to favor Narimani here.
Arnold Allen vs. Jordan Rinaldi, UFC Fight Night 147
And finally, there’s an intriguing featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Jordan Rinaldi. Allen (13-1) is 4-0 in the UFC and is riding a six-fight winning streak overall. However, he has been frequently injured and usually fights just once a year. Rinaldi (14-6) is 2-2 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision win over Jason Knight. Even though Allen is coming off of a long layoff I would still have to favor him quite heavily to defeat Rinaldi.
