Preview: UFC 295 Prelims

Featherweights

Jamall Emmers (19-7, 2-3 UFC) vs. Dennis Buzukja (11-3, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Emmers (-258), Buzukja (+210)

Injury issues have kept him from gaining much notice, but Emmers keeps chugging along as one of the more underrated entrants in a deep featherweight division. On the verge of a UFC call-up for years, Emmers got his growing pains out of the way over the course of his regional career. A former wrestler, “Pretty Boy” slowly built out a slick striking game that has been effective in neutralizing a lot of opponents. It does not make for the prettiest style at times, but Emmers is often a tough puzzle for others to solve. He is hard to outwrestle, and at this point, he can see most of his opponents’ offense coming. However, it does not seem to be the most judge-friendly style, either, as he dropped a controversial decision to Jack Jenkins in June that he seemed to have well in hand. Emmers looks to right that wrong and rebound against Buzukja. This could be a tough draw for Staten Island’s Buzukja, himself a fighter who was on the verge of the UFC for years before getting tabbed for a late-notice debut in August. Buzukja is a well-rounded pressure fighter but struggled against the massive size of Sean Woodson after stepping in on fight week. Still, “The Great” did at least once again prove he is quite hard to shake off his game even when things are not going particularly well. Buzukja should at least get the opportunity to pressure here, but he does not appear to have the pace or depth to make much hay, which seems to set him up for the usual trap of neither being able to outwrestle nor outstrike Emmers. There is a chance Buzukja could win over the judges through aggression, but the pick is Emmers via decision.

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Emmers vs. Buzukja