Preview: UFC 261 Prelims

Featherweights

NR | Pat Sabatini (13-3, 0-0 UFC) vs. NR | Tristan Connelly (14-6, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Sabatini (-230), Connelly (+190)

Even if things go off the rails, Connelly will always have his remarkable UFC debut. Connelly stepped in on short notice for a card in his native Vancouver, British Columbia, moving up a weight class to face Michel Pereira, who figured to knock his head off. It turned into a memorable fight, partially due to Pereira’s typical theatrics—which included a flying knee that saw him actually leap over Connelly in the process—but also due to the fact that after the Brazilian exhausted himself badly, Connelly managed to gut out a decision win and earn $100,000 in bonuses as a result. It was a great story from start to finish, but it has been radio silence for Connelly ever since, first due to the coronavirus pandemic and then due to a neck injury suffered in a car accident. A year and a half later, Connelly is ready to make his return two weight classes down at featherweight, where he will face a UFC newcomer. Sabatini has been on the fringes of a UFC callup for a while and rightfully so, as he is a solid prospect with some knockout power who leans on an aggressive wrestling game. He should be someone to watch going forward, though a lot of this fight centers around the mystery of what to expect from Connelly. There was not much available footage on Connelly before the Pereira fight, and a welterweight bout against such a strange opponent does not figure to translate much towards future matchups, particularly after his long injury layoff. Connelly will be the larger fighter and showed his relentlessness in that Pereira fight, so he could certainly grind out this one, as well. However, Pereira’s absolute implosion overshadowed the fact that Connelly wound up quite tired himself—something that figures to be more of an issue when cutting an additional 25 pounds. This is still a bit of a coinflip, but the pick is Sabatini via decision.

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