Preview: UFC Fight Night 246 Prelims

Bantamweights

Serhiy Sidey (10-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Garrett Armfield (10-4, 2-2 UFC)

ODDS: Sidey (-148), Armfield (+124)

It has been an odd year and change for Sidey, who entered the 2023 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series as one of Canada’s top prospects and was matched with Ramon Taveras. Sidey earned the knockout win, but the referee stoppage was on the earlier side. Sidey was still given a contract, but the UFC was unsatisfied enough with the result that once Taveras won a contract a few weeks later, the promotion ran back the matchup in January for each man’s UFC debut. The rematch lasted three fun rounds and saw Taveras win a controversial decision that most had scored against him, which has left Sidey in an odd spot in the ensuing 10 months. He returns here to try and get off to a fresh start against Armfield.

Armfield was an unremarkable fighter ahead his late-notice UFC debut in 2022, and while he’s still a bit lost in the shuffle of a deep bantamweight division, he has a solid game to work with as an effective puncher and a sharp wrestler. If there’s one criticism of Armfield at the moment, it’s that his movement-heavy style tends to exhaust him by the third round, which finally proved to a liability against Brady Hiestand in July. Hiestand’s pressure and pace eventually resulted in a late submission. That’s the likely path to victory for Sidey, too. His approach can be a bit hard to nail down in terms of preferred techniques, but he’s massive for the bantamweight division and has shown a solid commitment to moving forward while continuing to throw out ideas. Add in some solid durability to date, and Sidey should be able to swamp Armfield over the long haul, even if he has to walk through a lot of adversity to get there. The pick is Sidey via third-round stoppage.

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