Prelim Potential: Outstanding Early Performances You May Have Missed at UFC 319
With a stacked main card tonight at UFC 319, it’s no wonder most eyes have been laid upon the superstars capping off the night. Don’t let the bright lights blind you, though. The undercard of this spectacular evening did not disappoint. We started this evening with a match to decide the winner of The Ultimate Fighter’s Flyweight Division. Alibi Idris opened as a massive favorite against the underdog, Joseph Morales. While Idris started strong, the younger man was quickly smothered by the pressure of the more experienced Morales. The end of round one had Idris almost submitted by a rear-naked choke with seconds left to go. In the second, Morales burnt the candle at both ends. His striking and grappling drowned the untested Idris, scoring a knockdown and capitalizing on the open position by maneuvering to a triangle choke, forcing a tap from Idris and taking not only the title of Ultimate Fighter but also the zero from Idris’s record.
Lightweight prospect Chase Hooper had his hype train derailed before reaching the station, yet another upset on the evening coming courtesy of Alexander Hernandez’s clean boxing. While Hooper is known for his tight submissions and grappling, Hernandez subdued all attempts at ground combat and closed the show on Hooper’s five-fight win streak, and added a third to his own, all before the bell rang signaling the end of the first round. His right cross dropped the young prospect, and the continuous, bludgeoning hammer fists that followed forced the referee to stop the fight with only seconds left in the round. Both fighters are relatively young and will no doubt grow from the experience of battling one another this evening, but the night ultimately belonged to Hernandez.
In the second-to-last preliminary fight of the evening, a new member of the Fighting Nerds, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and a time-tested veteran, Gerlad Meerschaert, produced what ended up being a one-sided beating, with Meerschaert on the receiving end of such a whirlwind of offense. Early on, it was clear that the levels between the two men, despite the expansive gap in experience between the veterans, were massive. Perhaps the age of Meerschaert had finally caught up to him, or maybe the wealth of knowledge held in the Fighting Nerds camp propelled Oleksiejczuk past the submission specialist, but in either case, the fight was finished in under a round. Oleksiejczuk pushed the pace and caught a reaching Meerschaert with a flurry of blows, both above and below the outstretched arm, before securing the knockdown and destroying the remaining consciousness of Meerschaert before the fight was stopped. A feather in the cap of Oleksiejczuk, courtesy of the veteran he ripped it from, as he becomes yet another Middleweight prospect hot on the heels of the top fifteen.
Now, while I have chosen to highlight these three fights, it is worth saying that there are always gems hidden early in the night on the prelims. Future champions, budding rivalries, and fan favorites are born not in the brightest lights of a pay-per-view but early in the night, before the sun sets, when there is so much more to be proven. That is where the future stars are made and their steel sharpened. The coverage of such will always be at the forefront of my efforts. Please do take the time to watch the fights I did not have the chance to highlight, because though the flash may not be as bright, all these fighters could prove to be the building blocks of the next generation of martial arts.
