Preview: UFC 330 prelims

UFC 330 doesn’t have a ton of highly ranked action, but it at least makes up for that with some well-matched depth across these seven prelims. The top two bouts lead the way, as former lightweight standout Joel Alvarez looks for his most definitive welterweight win yet against Chidi Njokuani, while Jalin Turner takes on Kaue Fernandes in a fascinating — and potentially violent — lightweight bout. There’s also some solid name value here, with a few old dogs looking to fend off younger talent. Vicente Luque looks to build on a successful middleweight debut with a win over Tresean Gore, while the immortal Neil Magny takes on Ramiz Brahimaj. Even the opener offers something to watch, as Myktybek Orolbai might have the highest upside of anyone on this undercard despite drawing some odd matchmaking against Jeremiah Wells.Welterweights Chidi Njokuani (25-12, 1 NC) vs. Joel Alvarez (23-4) Odds: Alvarez (-280), Njokuani (+210) Alvarez looks to get back on track here. Not much was expected of Alvarez ahead of his 2019 Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. He ran through a low-level Spanish scene with a grappling-heavy approach that didn’t figure to translate several levels up in competition. Indeed, Damir Ismagulov handled Alvarez without much issue in his UFC debut, but it quickly became apparent that “El Fenomeno” was actually a lightweight to watch. Massive for the division, Alvarez used his reach to frustrate opponents into grappling with him, where he proved surprisingly adept at grabbing submissions out of nowhere. Alvarez eventually learned to turn up the pace as a striker, making him a nightmare for most opponents. However, his toughest test eventually turned out to be making weight, as a string of fight cancellations led to the Spaniard moving up to welterweight this past October. The results have been mixed. He coasted to what was somehow the first decision win of his career against Vicente Luque, then got crushed by Yaroslav Amosov in a particularly difficult stylistic matchup. It does seem that Alvarez has lost some of what makes him special now that he is facing opponents closer to his size, but this could be a nice bounce-back fight against Njokuani — though Alvarez is once again facing someone his own size. Njokuani has been a going concern for more than a decade, spending a successful five-year stretch with Bellator before being forced to take the Dana White’s Contender Series route ahead of his 2022 UFC debut. “Chidi Bang Bang” has mixed moments of brilliance with cause for frustration. He has used his length to score some impressive knockouts but has also struggled to maintain his pace under pressure — particularly at welterweight, where Njokuani seems much more focused on conserving his gas tank than he was during his days at 185 pounds. Alvarez might encounter some frustration against an opponent who can match his length, but his career suggests he will eventually turn up the heat. That should prove effective in cracking this fight open. The pick is Alvarez via second-round knockout. Jump To » Njokuani vs. Alvarez Turner vs. Fernandes Johnson vs. McConico Luque vs. Gore Tobias vs. Fernando Magny vs. Brahimaj Wells vs. Orolbai