Preview: UFC Kansas City Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to Kansas City this Saturday with UFC on ESPN 66 and a decent undercard in tow. Because the promotion got the main card right, there are no hidden gems buried on the prelims. However, there are some well-matched bouts, including the featured flyweight scrap between Matt Schnell and Jimmy Flick. It could also be a big day in the bantamweight division. Chris Gutierrez and John Castaneda move up from 135 pounds to featherweight to square off on late notice; Da’Mon Blackshear takes a quick turnaround in a potentially entertaining affair with Heili Alateng; and highly touted newcomer Malcolm Wellmaker makes his Octagon debut opposite Cameron Saaiman.

Now to the UFC on ESPN 66 “Garry vs. Prates” prelims preview:

Flyweights

Matt Schnell (16-9, 6-7 UFC) vs. Jimmy Flick (17-8, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Schnell (-285), Flick (+230)

Schnell has had a clearly defined career arc that has been interesting to track. Schnell came to the UFC in 2016 and looked like a blue-chip prospect, owing to some knockout power and a viciously creative submission game, but it quickly became apparent that his lack of durability was a liability even at flyweight, as he had a penchant for getting finished in some entertaining wars. To his credit, Schnell pivoted better than most, taking advantage of his length to fight behind a more patient and range-focused striking game, which allowed him to either coast to decision wins at distance or cause opponents to get overly aggressive and fall into a submission. Even so, Schnell is a wildman at heart, and over the last few years he has started to turn the aggression back up, which has backfired more often than not, even if it did result in a 2022 “Fight of the Year” contender against Su Mudaerji the one time things came together. After dropping a submission loss to Cody Durden in September, Schnell announced his retirement. With this being mixed martial arts, it resulted in “Danger” unretiring a few months later to take this fight against Flick, who’s on an unretirement tour of his own. It seemed like Flick’s UFC career would end before it really started, as he announced his retirement after winning his promotional debut against Durden, only to wind up returning two years later. “The Brick” has essentially picked up where he left off as a tricky submission specialist without many ancillary skills. Flick’s comeback has resulted in one win over the course of four fights, as he staged a successful comeback against Malcolm Gordon. In general, it feels like Flick’s approach isn’t working as well as it should, as he has been unable to catch most opponents off-guard. It’s always hard to trust a fighter coming back from what seemed like a clear retirement, but this does seem like Schnell’s fight to lose. Perhaps it winds up as a grappling-heavy effort, but it also wouldn’t be a shock to see Schnell work his range striking game and cruise without much trouble. The pick is Schnell via decision.

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Schnell vs. Flick
Elder vs. Young
Gutierrez vs. Castaneda
Blackshear vs. Alateng
Saaiman vs. Wellmaker
Amorim vs. Viana
Romero vs. Cuamba
Edwards vs. Chandler