UFC 261: Alex Oliveira vs Randy Brown: Preliminary Card Prediction and Analysis

UFC welterweights Alex Oliveira and Randy Brown will close out the preliminary card for UFC 261 in Florida. Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will headline the card in a fight for the undisputed welterweight title. Furthermore, there are two more title fights on the card along with a solid supporting cast of exciting fights.

The welterweight roster has had plenty of eyeballs on it as of late stars continue to emerge from the division. The title picture is concentrated at the top, and there’s a need for new contenders to enter the mix. Oliveira and Brown are certainly skilled enough to use the platform to their advantage and come out on top.

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UFC 261: Alex Oliveira vs Randy Brown

‘Cowboy’ Oliveira is coming off a rather disappointing submission loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov that came at UFC 254. He’s 2-4 in his last six outings and hasn’t been able to put together a comprehensive win streak in the division.

Alex Oliveira is as tough as they come and has frequently maneuvered through adversity. He’s got crisp striking and can end the fight in an instant with well-placed strikes off the front foot. He’ll have to make sure he’s careful if the fight hits the ground as Brown likes to scramble to a dominant position off full-guard.

‘Rude Boy’: Is this his coming out party?

‘Rude Boy’ Brown comes in as the fighter with a lot less experience than Oliveira, however, he’s as game as they come. Despite having just 16 professional fights compared to Alex Oliveira’s 32 official fights, he’s faced some dangerous welterweights. He’s coming off a loss to Vicente Luque in his last bout and has faced names such as Belal Muhammad and Niko Price, thus giving him solid experience.

Brown relies heavily on the fundamentals and plays off structured footwork in order to advance his position. Very few fighters are able to maintain the pace he keeps throughout the course of 15-minutes. Output aside, his defensive responsibility in close range leaves plenty to be desired at times, especially when he’s backing up and this will prove to be costly.

Prediction: Alex Oliveira to claim a unanimous decision victory.

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