Preview: UFC on ESPN 27 Prelims

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Bantamweights

NR | Julio Arce (16-4, 3-2 UFC) vs. NR | Andre Ewell (17-7, 4-3 UFC)

ODDS: Arce (-200), Ewell (+170)

This should be an entertaining encounter that is going under the radar on such a surprisingly deep card. Ewell is slowly putting things together inside the Octagon after a notable UFC debut in 2018. That was part of a breakout year for Ewell’s professional career. He faced an exceptionally weak level of competition in years prior, and after racking up some wins, he got the call to make his UFC debut against former champion Renan Barao. The fact that Ewell beat Barao said more about where the Brazilian was at the time than anything else, but it was still a victory with some name value that gave “Mr. Highlight” some shine going forward. Upon his UFC entry, Ewell essentially had nothing to his game but his long frame and a willingness to use it, as he is quite an effective range sniper. To his credit, Ewell has obviously put some work into his other tools—to the point where they are not quite such an immediate liability, even if he typically needs his opponent to be willing to strike in order to walk away with an actual victory.

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Arce should be a fun dance partner, as the New Yorker comes down to bantamweight for the first time in his UFC career. Arce put together a solid run at 145 pounds, including a UFC debut victory over Dan Ige that continues to age well, but he never really found much momentum in terms of results. While Arce showed a consistent commitment to making something happen, that sometimes just resulted in his getting pieced up by opponents like Sheymon Moraes and Hakeem Dawodu. However, Arce has brought excitement every time out if nothing else, and this fight should be no exception. Ewell should bring enough on the feet to make this entertaining, but Arce just has much more to work with in terms of diversity of weapons; and given his durability, it is also likely that he will be able to pivot to a wrestling and grappling game to find success if Ewell starts to cause any damage on the feet. The pick is Arce via decision.

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