Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

UFC Fight Night 67: Condit vs. Alves Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More

Brian Mazique

If "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit and Thiago "Pitbull" Alves would have clashed about five or six years ago, the bout would have probably been a part of a pay-per-view event. In 2015, with Condit making his comeback from a torn ACL and Alves re-establishing his career after mounds of injuries sidelined him for two years from 2012-14, the two 31-year-old veterans will headline UFC Fight Night 67 on Fox Sports 1 in Alves' native Brazil.

Condit injured his knee in his March 2014 bout against Tyron Woodley at UFC 171. After rigorous rehab, Condit is headed back to the Octagon. He promises his return bout with Alves will be "fast-paced and violent" in this interview with MMA Fighting.

Alves has won two fights in a row, having stopped Jordan Mein and won a decision over Seth Baczynski in his most recent bouts. The Pitbull pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat against Mein. Alves was being pummeled by the young and talented Mein, before the latter got careless and was caught with a kick to the body from the rugged Brazilian.

Steve Marcus/Getty Images

The strike stopped the American in his tracks and gave Alves an improbable victory in a fight he was clearly losing. On Saturday, he'll be looking to score another explosive win in front of his countrymen. 

We don't know if Condit will show any rust from his long layoff, but assuming he's the same fighter that has proven to be one of the best welterweights in the world, the Natural Born Killer should win impressively.

Condit's game was deeper than Alves' before he suffered the injury; according to his interview with UFC.com, Condit has added even more layers to his game.

He'll avoid Alves' aggressive attempts to make the fight a brawl and win by submission in the second round.

UFC Fight Night 67 Viewing Information, Card and Predictions
UFC Fight Pass Prelims at 7 p.m. ET
Matchup Weight Class Prediction
Luiz Dutra vs. Tom Breese Welterweight Dutra by KO
Juliana Lima vs. Ericka Almeida Strawweight Almeida by submission
Fox Sports 1 Prelims at 8 p.m. ET
Matchup Weight Class Prediction
Lucas Martins vs. Mirsad Bektic Featherweight Martins by TKO
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Nicolas Dalby Welterweight dos Santos by KO
Jussier Formiga vs. Wilson Reis Flyweight Reis by decision
Rony Jason vs. Damon Jackson Featherweight Jackson by decision
Fox Sports 1 Main Card at 10 p.m. ET
Matchup Weight Class Prediction
Wendell Oliveira vs. Darren Till Welterweight Till by decision
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Norman Parke Lightweight Parke by decision
Francimar Barroso vs. Ryan Jimmo Light Heavyweight Barroso by submission
KJ Noons vs. Alex Oliveira Welterweight Oliveira by unanimous decision
Carlos Condit vs. Thiago Alves Welterweight Condit by decision
Card per UFC.com, picks by Mazique

The Best of the Rest of the Main Card

Oliveira Will Be Too Much for Lentz

David Becker/Associated Press

In the co-featured bout, two top-10 featherweights will battle in an important 145-pound scrap. 

No. 9-ranked Nik Lentz takes on No. 8-ranked Brazilian Charles Oliveira. Lentz's only loss since 2015 came by unanimous decision to perennial contender Chad "Money" Mendes. Aside from Jose Aldo, who has beaten Mendes twice, Lentz is the only fighter to even go the distance with Money since 2012.

As tough as Lentz is, Oliveira is a future superstar. 

He took on too much too fast from 2012-13 when he lost back-to-back fights to Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar. Since then, Oliveira has won three straight fights. He's still just 25 years old, but he looks to be coming into his own. In the biggest win of his career, Oliveira will take a serious step toward earning a title shot.

He'll out-strike Lentz to take a unanimous decision.

Someone's Going to Get Stopped

When KJ Noons and Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira meet, it would be a shock if the fight lasts the full three rounds. Noons and Cowboy have 17 KO wins combined in 35 fights.

Both men seem to be comfortable in a brawl but in examining their respective fighting styles, Oliveira looks to be the more technically sound. He also has the better defense. Per FightMetric.com, Noons absorbs an insane 3.83 strikes per minute.

Against a powerful and technical striker like Cowboy, that's a problematic tendency. In an eye-opening performance, Cowboy will score a second-round TKO over a tough veteran that has only been stopped once in his MMA career.


Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)