Preview: UFC Fight Night 206 Prelims

Bantamweights

Jonathan Martinez (15-4, 6-3 UFC) vs. Vince Morales (11-5, 3-3 UFC)

ODDS: Martinez (-195), Morales (+165)

This is a well-matched affair, with these two bantamweights each riding two-fight winning streaks but still looking for a breakthrough victory. Despite losing his UFC debut to Yadong Song back in 2018, Morales impressed in taking Song to a tough decision. That did not lead to much in the way of consistent success for “Vandetta,” who tends to get by on a counter-heavy striking game and has struggled to stay on the right side of some thin margins. Thankfully, things have finally started to click a bit for Morales in the last year, as he took a decision win from Drako Rodriguez in August and followed it with an impressive first-round knockout of Louis Smolka in December. If nothing else, that gives Morales enough of a footing to carve out a solid UFC career from this point forward, but if he has found some knockout power, that could result in an actual run up the 135-pound ranks, particularly with a win in this assignment. Martinez has quietly won six of his nine UFC bouts, but the “Dragon” still feels like a frustrating prospect to watch. There are moments of dynamism and Martinez appears to be a fighter who can hold his own anywhere, but despite being scrappy and far from a neutralizing fighter, he never works beyond a certain pace, winning workmanlike decisions against the bottom half of the UFC’s bantamweight roster. This is an odd matchup and a bit of a coinflip, as both men never really dictate the terms of their fights but also have clear avenues to success. Martinez has a solid low-kicking game that has worked well against Morales in the past, while Morales’ trigger counters and Martinez’s defensive lapses could line up for some big offensive moments. This might be the hardest fight to call on the card, but given that Morales figures to have the more impactful moments—visually or otherwise—he gets the nod. The pick is Morales via decision.

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