Preview: UFC London Prelims

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming jaunt to London includes a quietly fascinating undercard—as they usually do.

Over the last six years, the industry leader has settled into a routine of visiting the UK once per year, generally in March, and while the top matchups on the marquee depend on the state of the UFC’s divisional title pictures and the availability of homegrown stars, the prelims almost always feature the crème de la crème of upcoming European talent. This weekend’s offering at London’s O2 Arena is no exception, with practically every undercard bout featuring a former Cage Warriors, Oktagon MMA or Ares FC champion. While resurgent Welshman Mason Jones faces unbeaten French striker Axel Sola in the top undercard bout, the main draw for hardcore fans and close observers of the European scene will be the debut of former two-division Oktagon champ Losene Keita, who faces Nathaniel Wood in a fantastic featherweight scrap.

Whether you’re an American UFC fan ready for your annual report on the state of Euro MMA, a European excited for once not to have to stay up until 3 a.m. to see the fights or just another guy or gal who enjoys watching some face-punching, here’s the preview for the eight-fight undercard of UFC Fight Night 270, also known as UFC London:

Lightweights

Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola

BETTING ODDS: Jones (-120); Sola (+100)

Jones (17-2, 1 NC; 3-2, 1 NC UFC) is the latest example of an interesting phenomenon: European fighters who come back for a second tour of duty in the Octagon looking much improved. Jones joined the UFC in 2021 as a former two-division Cage Warriors champ, went 1-2 with one no contest and was released. He returned to CW, won four fights in dominant fashion, was re-signed by the UFC and has gone 2-0 since. Cage Warriors in particular has been an accommodating partner for the UFC in this regard—almost like a baseball team’s AAA affiliate, to indulge in an American-style comparison—with fighters like Jones, Modestas Bukauskas and Rhys McKee enjoying greater success after being “sent back down” to CW for some additional seasoning.

The improvement in Jones’ game is a case of evolution rather than revolution; his skills and basic approach are the same as ever, only fueled by increased strength, conditioning and confidence. On the feet, he is a fairly big-framed lightweight with good combination boxing in the pocket, solid midrange striking and a willingness to work the body. He has an underrated takedown game, with nice reactive level changes in space, and good judo trips and throws in close, like the one he used on Bolaji Oki in his most recent outing last September to set up perhaps his best career win to date. Once he has an opponent on the canvas, he applies hard, deliberate ground strikes and while he has not notched a submission since his early days in CW, the grappling skills are clearly there.

Sola (11-0-1; 1-0 UFC) made his UFC debut at the same Paris card where Jones pounded out Oki, knocking out Jones’ countryman McKee in a welterweight bout. Now back down at his natural weight, the former Ares champ has the chance to make a statement with a win over the resurgent Jones. The 28-year-old Frenchman is a kickboxer by training and inclination, and despite his long frame, he does some of his best work in close quarters, exploding with flurries of punches, including some heavy body shots, punctuated by chopping short-range leg kicks. Against McKee, who enjoyed height and reach advantages over Sola but couldn’t match his speed or power, it was brutally effective. Sola makes good use of well-timed level changes; even if he doesn’t secure a takedown, he uses the shot to close the distance, run his foe to the fence and apply his solid dirty boxing.

This is a fun matchup between two fighters who are similar in many ways, and the betting line is a near pick ‘em for good reason. Of the two, Jones has more high-level experience and probably the better overall wrestling and grappling game. Sola might be just a tick faster with the hands and feet, even if Jones remains underrated in that department. However, I’m increasingly sold on Jones as a lightweight still on the rise, while I’m not there yet with Sola. The pick here is that Jones outworks Sola on the feet, or at least holds his own, and mixes in a couple of well-timed takedowns to earn a clear-cut decision.



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Jones vs. Sola
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