A 37-Year-Old Featherweight Goes for Quarantillo’s Throat at UFC Fight Night
On August 8th, spectators will gather at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas to witness the fight card for UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Salkilld. The fight card includes the main event, but it also includes a fight before that main event that will bring attention to two fighters in the men’s Lightweight Division. These fighters both have been in the combat sport for almost a decade each, and carry with them developing legacies. Specifically, Diego Ferreira has been in the sport since 2014 whileBilly Quarantillo has been in the game since 2019. Even more importantly, both fighters carry a majority winning record with the tenacity to back it up.
Tenacity can define a fighter as a whole, and Quarantillo may be 37 years old, but on average he’s landing 7.44 strikes per minute. So, he’s the more aggressive of the two in this fight and even scores a 42% defence when his fight career of 18-7-0 is taken into perspective. That alone could end up costing him if he’s too busy landing strikes and not taking the time to defend himself from any of his opponent’s strikes. However, he’s the more accurate fighter of the two and strikes with 54% accuracy on average. This is the perfect antithesis to Ferreira, who will be coming into this fight as the defensive fighter.
Also, Ferreira is 41 years old and absorbs only 3.46 strikes per minute, which is noticeably lower than his 37-year-old opponent. The other reason he will be seen as being more cautious is that his defence is 55% overall when standing. In short, if there are any strikes that are from the litany that will be sent his way, they will have to be well placed, as he may slip most of them that could be significant. This opens up the possibility that he will find more openings in Quarantillo’s aggressive strikes, which could lead to an inevitable knockout. If he is not careful, though, he will be on the receiving end of some nasty hooks or uppercuts.
The statistics are in agreement that his defensive nature will allow him to see openings in his opponent’s strikes, and the 41-year-old fighter will be the victor because of that. Furthermore, these openings will create the opportunity for a KO/TKO according to all the data modeled for this bout. It is not hard to see either, due to the nature of the two fighters. They are polar opposites to each other in the form of their tactics and strategy. Even more so, Ferreira does carry more submissions on average than Quarantillo, which further marks how in a clinch he would come out on top. If the 37-year-old opponent hopes to gain an advantage, it would be favorable if he himself becomes more defensive throughout the fight. If he does so, he can trade insignificant strikes for significant opportunities and an upsetting takedown that would stop any momentum gained by the 41-year-old fighter.
The 41-year-old fighter will win this fight, though, because aside from statistics that point to him winning, there is the fact that he will not allow any strikes to be significant to count for his opponent’s side. This will give him the opportunity to find the openings discussed and land a KO/TKO or enough significant strikes that will place him ahead if any point-based decisions are made. The fight itself could go that far, as these fighters are like a real-world demonstration of fire and ice. A demonstration that will rock some fans to their feet, but leaves an exhilarating show that can be streamed through Paramount+ at 8:00 p.m. EDT!
