Preview: UFC London Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to London comes with some solid prelims. Lightweights Jai Herbert and Chris Padilla get the UFC Fight Night 255 featured slot in a well-matched bout, but the two fights immediately below it are probably the most interesting of this batch; top flyweight prospect Lone'er Kavanagh gets his latest test in Felipe dos Santos, while Mick Parkin gets a shot to make a huge move up the heavyweight ladder against Marcin Tybura. Otherwise, these fights are mostly matched for action with the European flavor -- or is that flavour -- that you'd expect.

Lightweights

Jai Herbert (13-5-1) vs. Chris Padilla (15-6)
Odds: Herbert (-125), Padilla (+105)

Herbert had some high expectations heading into his UFC debut in 2020, as "The Black Country Banger" had put together a ton of regional success, but there were some signs that the Englishman could struggle with the step up in competition; ideally a quick sniper that could take advantage of his size and speed, Herbert was probably too content to close ranks and bang things out, nullifying a lot of his natural advantages. Indeed, Herbert had a spotty start to his UFC career in losing three out of four fights - though that did include a near-knockout of Ilia Topuria before getting finished himself - but now it looks like he's finally settled down. Herbert leaned into a slower approach before finally finding a groove as a range striker in his last win over Rolando Bedoya, and while he seems to have a clearly established ceiling, Herbert should be able to chug along as a solid middle-of-the-road lightweight.

On the other side of things is Padilla, who's taken the opposite path of immediately overachieving in the UFC despite some low expectations. Padilla had a decade of experience ahead of his UFC debut, none of which seemed particularly impressive; "Taco" had lost to a few regional fighters and generally fallen short in every step up in competition, save for the win over UFC vet Justin Jaynes that earned him that UFC debut. But whatever ceiling Padilla has, he does seem to be hitting the UFC at the right time, as he's shown an impressive amount of poise in wins over James Llontop and Rongzhu, quickly tapping out the former and earning an injury stoppage with a brutal standing elbow to the latter. With Herbert finding himself a bit as a range striker in his last fight, he should be able to get this over the finish line, but this could prove to be a surprisingly tough scrap if things get messy; the pick is Herbert via decision.

Jump To »
Herbert vs. Padilla
Kavanagh vs. dos Santos
Tybura vs. Parkin
Duncan vs. Pulyaev
Bannon vs. Tomar
Fletcher vs. Loughran
Kutateladze vs. Fernandes