Preview: UFC on Fox 27 ‘Jacare vs. Brunson 2’

Welterweight

Niko Price (10-1) vs. George Sullivan (17-5)

ODDS: Price (-290), Sullivan (+245)

ANALYSIS: Price is no defensive wizard, and his explosive, pressuring style will inevitably get him clobbered from time to time over his career; however Sullivan gives him an ideal foil as a meat-and-potatoes plodder who grinds in the clinch and on top. Price can pressure or counter here and put his three-inch reach advantage to use, and even if he winds up on his back at some point, he is still good enough of a grappler to sweep, scramble or even submit the tough but unspectacular Sullivan. Price tends to head hunt and not vary his attacks on occasion, telegraphing his lunging swings, but he makes up for it with power; and frankly, Sullivan is not a difficult target. Sullivan has not fought for two years due to a pair of USADA doping sanctions, and in his most recent fight, Alexander Yakovlev crumpled the 36-year-old in the first round. Either Price loads up and swings until he cracks Sullivan and stops him with strikes or he submits him after stunning him in the first 10 minutes.

Featherweight

Austin Arnett (15-3) vs. Cory Sandhagen (7-1)

ODDS: Sandhagen (-220), Arnett (+180)

ANALYSIS: This pairing was essentially cobbled together during fight week; Sandhagen fought at Legacy Fighting Alliance 31 on Jan. 19, knocking out Jose Aguayo. Fortunately, the Aguayo bout lasted just 67 seconds and Sandhagen took no damage. Meanwhile, Arnett was preparing to compete at a regional event on Feb. 24, so neither of the debuting featherweights should suffer for the lack of notice. Arnett gained attention in August, when Brandon Davis made him a bloody mess on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, and Sandhagen has the skillset to do the same. Sandhagen’s the technically superior striker, and though he prefers to stand, he is not above using his defensive wrestling to take top position and unload exactly the sort of vicious elbows that Davis used on Arnett. Sandhagen has the option of working a distance game and dominating with the jab and low kick template, but he has strong clinch skills, too, and can step inside and do real damage. That gives him a shot to knock out Arnett, who has never been stopped with strikes in his career. Regardless, the considerable striking edge should at the very least let Sandhagen cruise to a clear-cut decision.