Fighters Only : UFC Fight Night 170: Brasilia

Fighters Only

May 06, 2022

Another week, another UFC event. This week, the MMA promotional juggernaut hits Brazil’s capital city of Brasilia for UFC Fight Night 170.

Headlining the card, a top-tier lightweight scrap between Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira will surely capture plenty of headlines.

Aside from the main event and barring a couple of fighters elsewhere on the billing, the fight card may lack some name power compared to other events, but every fight appears to be a competitive, stylistic match-up which provides plenty of intrigue.

Scroll to the very bottom of this preview to check out the full UFC Fight night 170: Brasilia fight card to gear yourself up for the weekend.

As always, along with the preview of the two most intriguing bouts at UFC Fight Night 170: Brasilia, Fighters Only will be providing picks for the best bets and will provide the odds.

UFC Fight Night 170: Brasilia – Kevin Lee vs. Charles Oliveira

UFC lightweights Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira will do battle in the main event at UFC Fight Night 170: Brasilia.

Lee made a triumphant return to the 155-pound division last November following a failed experiment to compete at welterweight. “The Motown Phenom” made light work of unbeaten talent Gregor Gillespie, knocking him out cold with a vicious head kick.

But that victory did come after a fall in fighting form. His welterweight test saw him submitted by former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, a loss which came after dropping a decision to Al Iaquinta. Elsewhere, he traded a loss with former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson with a win against feared striker Edson Barboza.

A recurring theme in the fights above show that Lee is fighting nothing but top-tier competition. Despite going 2-3 in his last five fights, it appears Lee has a renewed sense of purpose now he is cementing the lightweight division as his home.

While Lee took a rather cumbersome journey navigating victories and defeats to find the position he’s now in, Oliveira has featured in nothing but the win column since 2018.

Clay Guida, Christos Giagos, Jim Miller, David Teymur, Nik Lentz, Jared Gordon – all have come a cropper to Oliveira in little over a year-and-a-half and by finish, too.

In fact, not one of those fighters got past the second round with the Brazilian, and there’s something to be said about momentum in fight sports.

Lee will be among Oliveira’s biggest tests in his career. “Charles Do Bronx” has fought plenty of big names in the past, such as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway, Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas and Paul Felder. However, each of those times Oliveira has taken on that step up in competition, he has lost.

This is Oliveira’s chance to overcome the hurdle which has held back his career thus far.

The fight is certainly an interesting clash of styles and recent fortunes which provides plenty of intrigue for this headlining bout.

Oliveira, who boasts the most submission wins in UFC history, is a finisher in its truest sense, having ended his wins early 26 times of his 28 victories. On the other hand, Lee has an extensive wrestling background which has allowed him to develop an ever-impressive striking arsenal.

With the lightweight division as talent-rich as ever, a big win for either man could do wonders for their chances to get into title contention.

Betting recommendation: Kevin Lee win: -140

UFC Fight Night 170: Brasilia – Johnny Walker vs. Nikita Krylov

Further down in the Brasilia event’s main card is a sure-fire explosive fight between Brazil’s Johnny Walker and Ukrainian Nikita Krylov.

There is little doubt this light heavyweight battle will be a fun one considering how the fighters’ combined records have seen them only go to a decision twice in 53 fights.

After gaining entry into the UFC through the Dana White Contender Series, Walker quickly made a name for himself with stunning first-round knockouts over Khalil Rountree Jr., Justin Ledet, and Misha Cirkunov.

The relatively-unknown Brazilian burst onto the scene with his entertaining persona inside and outside the cage. However, he hit his first UFC roadblock in Corey Anderson at UFC 244 last November, suffering a first-round knockout himself.

The manner of how Walker quickly rose to prominence in the light heavyweight division had already seen his name mentioned in the title picture, but now he’s back at square one.

That’s something he recognises himself. Walker has totally uprooted his training camp from the sunny climbs of Brazil for the harsh winter of Montreal, Canada. He’s even changed his management team.

Walker’s all-action style seems unlikely to change despite his new coaching team, but it will certainly be interested to see how his skills have been honed in his new surroundings.

Similarly to his Brazilian counterpart, Krylov is also entering the fight coming off a loss. Krylov took his opponent’s compatriot Glover Teixeira to a decision, but the contest was ultimately awarded to the latter by two of the three judges sat cageside.

Krylov is actually in his second stint in the UFC. Starting out as a heavyweight, the Russian-based brawler defeated Walt Harris before moving down to 205 pounds, where he went on to defeat the likes of Cody Donovan, Stanislav Nedkov, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Francimar Barroso and Ed Herman.

His five-fight win streak was snapped by Misha Cirkunov and Krylov then left the UFC to fight closer to home.

“Miner” made his return to the UFC light heavyweight division in 2018 after the promotion finally made its first in-roads into holding events in Russia. Krylov lost his return bout in Moscow against Jan Blachowicz, a man now considered among the top title contenders in the weight class.

In between those aforementioned defeats to Blachowicz and Teixeira, Krylov did avenge a loss to Ovince Saint Preux by submitting him with a rear-naked choke at UFC 236.

Both men are scrappy, violent strikers with abilities on the ground. Don’t expect the fight to hit the mat, though.

Krylov is no stranger to bravely engaging in a firefight and he is supported by a cast-iron chin to do so. Meanwhile, there have been some questions raised about Walker’s abilities to withstand punishment after his Anderson loss, but his vast array of powerful, fight-ending strikes make him a danger to any man in the light heavyweight division.

It’s almost certain we will see Walker’s chin tested by Krylov, but we’re siding with the favourite on this one. Recommendation: Johnny Walker win: -135