Preview: UFC Fight Night 234 ‘Ankalaev vs. Walker 2’

Middleweights

Brunno Ferreira (10-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Phil Hawes (12-5, 4-3 UFC)

ODDS: Ferreria (-118), Hawes (-102)

Freshly turned 35 years old, Hawes remains the eternal frustrating prospect. Hawes made his pro debut in 2014 and figured to have the physical and technical tools to take over the sport in short order, but it instead took him over six years to even make it to the UFC. “The Ultimate Fighter 23” winner Andrew Sanchez outlasted Hawes during the qualifying fights of that bracket in 2016, and a 2017 showing on Dana White’s Contender Series saw Hawes get knocked out by Julian Marquez. After three years of finishing opponents on the regional scene, Hawes finally punched his ticket on a return trip to DWCS with a quick knockout victory. By then, it seemed like Hawes made it to the UFC just as he was hitting his stride. He was still a terror capable of running over his opponents, but wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Kyle Daukaus showed off a long-awaited ability for Hawes to manage his gas tank, control a fight and get a decision victory over the finish line. However, that has proven to be the high-water mark for Hawes, who has lost three of his last four fights since. His gas tank no longer seems to be a problem—though none of those fights have gone particularly long enough to tell—but Hawes now seems to be undone by a lack of defensive awareness. He is as offensively potent as ever, looking sharp early even in his losses, but Chris Curtis, Roman Dolidze and Ikram Aliskerov have all proven capable of catching Hawes while he is locked in on that offense and ending the fight in an instant.

That makes for an absolutely fascinating fight against Brunno Ferreira, who brings little to the table outside of punching power but might still end up finding Hawes’ chin. Despite a simple game—punch hard and figure out the rest later—it is still a bit difficult to calibrate where “The Hulk” stands through two UFC fights. He made his promotional debut with a shocking upset of Brazilian countryman Gregory Rodrigues, only to quickly get obliterated on the feet by Nursulton Ruziboev, a grappler at heart. That Ruziboev loss is a bit understandable thanks to the size difference—Ruziboev is massive at 6-foot-4—but does not track with the durability that Ferreira has shown otherwise, which makes this fight a complete question mark. Hawes is definitely the more complete fighter with more options at his disposal, but there is a decent chance all of those options lead into Ferreira swinging for the rafters and landing a knockout punch. It is hard to trust either man at the moment, but a Hawes knockout loss seems like the surest bet on the table. The pick is Ferreira via first-round knockout.

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Ankalaev vs. Walker
Kape vs. Nicolau
Miller vs. Benitez
Simon vs. Bautista
Ferreira vs. Hawes
The Prelims