Road to UFC 3: Episode 1 Breakdown and Predictions (Patreon)

Featherweight, Kangjie Zhu vs. Tatsuya Ando

Tale of the Tape

Kangjie Zhu
Jiangsu, China
28
Five-foot-eight
18-4, 1 NC
Combined opponent's record: 102-110-2

Tatsuya Ando
Suginami, Tokyo, Japan
34
Five-foot-six
14-3-1
Combined opponent's record: 140-70-21

Pros and Cons

Kangjie Zhu

Pros

• Strong kickboxing

• Super explosive

• Fast

• Good cardio

• Nasty elbows

• Knockout power

• Durable

• Dangerous front kick

• Good right hand

Cons

• Loads up

• Terrible TDD

• Telegraphs his punches

• Poor grappling defense

Tatsuya Ando

Pros

• Submission threat

• Scrambles well

• Durable

Cons

TDD needs work

• Gets walked down

• Throws wild in straight lines

• Gives up his back too easy

• Hands held low

Prediction: I remember watching Ando from years ago and never being impressed. Now he's 34 and coming off a fight he took a lot of damage in although he won. I mean, someone at 34 shouldn't be on something like this. My best guess it's to set up a win for Zhu. With Zhu, I started off not liking him but in the end I like him. He does have big flaws in his takedown defense and grappling defense. Ando struggles with the same but he does have better offensive wrestling. Ando never fights with a wrestling game plan. He just throws in blitzes with zero setups and no angles. Zhu is a really good striker primarily with his kickboxing. He's gonna be the bigger and faster fighter in this one. I don't know if he'll be able to knock out Ando but he should beat the shit out of him. Ando could make this fight ugly and make it a brawl. Skill for skill Zhu should keep Ando at bay and piece him up on the outside. I'm picking Zhu by knockout because Ando is 34 and his striking defense it's a great match with the striking of Zhu.

Featherweight, Shin Haraguchi Vs. Jun Young Hong

Tale of the Tape

Shin Haraguchi
Kagoshima, Japan
25
Five-foot-six
7-1, 1 NC
Combined opponent's record: 72-31-2

Jun Young Hong
Seoul, South Korea
33
Five-foot-eight
13-7-1
Combined opponent's record: 53-41-3

Pros and Cons

Shin Haraguchi

Pros

• Excellent wrestling

• Strong top position

• Quick hands

• Good chain-wrestling

• Scrambles well

• Excellent ground and pound

• Fast starter

• Excellent ground control

Cons

• Struggles at range

Jun Young Hong

Pros

• Good volume

• Good head movement

• Tough

• Uses feints well

• Explosive

• Good leg kicks

Cons

• Doesn't wear damage well

• Will overextend on punches 

• Ducks his head when engaging

• Defense weakens as the fight goes

• TDD needs a little work

Prediction: Haraguchi fought last season on RTU and lost in the finals. Hong fought on season one and lost in the first round. The big difference is Haraguchi is moving down featherweight this season. He fought last season where he was way too undersized. Hong is 33 but it is better than what you would think. He's a solid fighter that could give anyone in this bracket a challenge. I do favor the younger Haraguchi. Hong does struggle with wrestling and Haraguchi is a high-level wrestler. Hong is also dealing with someone who's a top-notch chain wrestler. I wouldn't count out Hong because he is the better striker and could be the favorite as the fight goes on. I just know Haraguchi will stick to a wrestling game plan and I don't see Hong fending him off. I like Haraguchi by decision.

Strawweight, Xiaocan Feng Vs. Kiran Singh

Tale of the Tape

Xiaocan Feng
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
22
Five-foot-eight
8-2
Combined opponent's record: 60-27

Kiran Singh
Uttar Pradesh, India
23
Five-foot-two
6-3
Combined opponent's record: 2-6

Pros and Cons

Xiaocan Feng

Pros

• Good straight punches

• Controls range well

• Good ground and pound

Cons

• Poor TDD

• Lost off her back

• Zero head movement

• Advances in straight lines

Kiran Singh

Pros

• Nothing

Cons

• Everything

Singh is probably one of the worst fighters I ever scouted. For the UFC brass to even bring her on is a smack in the face to other talent. If you look at her Tapology a few of her fights were flagged for legitimacy. In her "wins," they don't look good. There is no way finishing other pros by neck cranks are legit wins. What I'm trying to say is her fights look fixed and she doesn't even look good in them. I can't tell you one thing she does well but she does everything wrong. Feng has some huge concerns as well. I mean, you can't be taken seriously if you're losing to Na Liang. She has gaps in her defense especially TDD and off her back. Feng does at least have decent striking and that's more than I can say about Singh. Feng is at least 22 so she has upside. Even though Feng probably won't win this she should destroy Singh. I got Feng by first-round KO.

Featherweight, Miki Motono Vs. Feier Huang

Tale of the Tape

Miki Motono
Ishikawa, Japan
29
Five-foot-three
8-4
Combined opponent's record: 34-22-1

Feier Huang
Leshan, Sichuan, China
29
Five-foot-five
14-8
Combined opponent's record: 23-19

Pros

• Decent wrestling

• Submission threat

• Good ground and pound

• Credible jiu-jitsu

Cons

• Shoots from too far out

• Puts herself into submissions

• One-dimensional

Feier Huang

Pros

• Aggressive

• Decent kickboxing

Cons

• Poor submission defense

Prediction: Both these girls are not near UFC level. Huang does have some high to good-level competition. She's been in the cage with Dong Huaxiang, Ariane Carnelossi, Svetlana Gotsyk, Maryna Moroz, and Weili Zhang but she lost to all of them. On the other side, she has zero notable wins. In no instance should a 14-8 fighter be close to the UFC. Motono is coming off a loss but has at least had success. She's a former Deep strawweight champion. Like Huang, Motono has no notable wins but has losses to good fighters. I have to pick Motono because she's a good wrestler/grappler and that's where Huang struggles. I mean the girl has seven submission losses. My pick is Motono by round two submission.

Welterweight, Baharebole Batebolati Vs Han Seul Kim

Tale of the Tape

Baharebole Batebolati
Beijing, China
26
Five-foot-eleven
9-1-1
Combined opponent's record: 47-25-2

Han Seul Kim
Ishikawa, Japan
29
Five-foot-three
13-5
Combined opponent's record: 81-44-14

Pros and Cons

Baharebole Batebolati

Pros

• Good left hand

Cons

• Poor TDD

• Throws single strikes

• Low volume

• Telegraphs striking

• No head movement

Han Seul Kim

Pros

• Good straight punches

• Nice pull-counter

• Good feints

• Fights long well

• Sneaky good uppercut

• Good counter striker

Cons

• Chin-up

• Takes a lot of damage

• Questionable chin

• Vulnerable in exchanges

• Struggles with pressure

• Slows in the later round

Prediction: I don't know why these guys are getting a featured bout on this considering both we're already on RTU and couldn't get it done. Kim was knocked out and Batebolati won by DQ and pulled out of his other fight. Kim is a flawed fighter and Batebolati is a low-level fighter which is a big difference. Kim has some skills where Batebolati lacks everything but a left hand basically. I do see a world where Batebolati wins because his chin holds up longer than Kim's. I see them both deciding to stand and bang with litter technique and no defense. I favor the striking of Kim so as long as his chin doesn't fail him he should win this