UFC 287 Fight Pass prelims tips: Cynthia Calvillo and Lupita Godinez to put on a strawweight show
- Liam Hampton
- 8 April 2023
Opening the action packed UFC 287 fight card are a set of Fight Pass prelims guaranteed to impress featuring flashy lightweights and sensational strawweights as they make their moves up the rankings.
Cynthia Calvillo vs Lupita Godinez
Headlining the Fight Pass prelims are two women who at one time shared the same philosophy when it came to fighting, no better way to improve than to just get in the cage and do it.
That philosophy gained plenty of attention for Cynthia Calvillo and Lupita Godinez, with Calvillo competing on back-to-back PPV events in 2017 and Godinez competing three times in six weeks back in 2021, both women gained plenty of media attention and hype for their exploits.
Unfortunately for Calvillo recent form has been less than kind to her, a current four fight losing streak has come after a move to flyweight and she was stopped via strikes in two of those contests against Jessica Andrade and Angela Lee.
Returning to strawweight could be a blessing for her as a fresh start back down at 115lbs could reinvigorate her career which showed so much promise back in 2017.
Godinez could learn from the mistakes of Calvillo, fighting so frequently provides great experience but losing efforts to Angela Hill and Luana Carolina have hurt her stock in the UFC, knowing that wins pay the bills in the UFC Godinez must be prepared to make smarter choices in selecting her opponents.
Key Stats
- Lupita Godinez has never lost two fights in a row and her last fight was a loss to Angela Hill.
- Cynthia Calvillo has split all her UFC wins evenly between submissions and decisions.
Suggested Bets
- Lupita Godinez to win by decision.
Trey Ogden vs Ignacio Bahamondes
A fight with huge potential for post-fight bonus money, lightweights Trey Ogden and Ignacio Bahamondes are guaranteed to put on a show for the UFC 287 crowd.
An electric striker with some of the best kicks across any division in the UFC, Bahamondes shot to superstardom when he finished Roosevelt Roberts with a spinning wheel kick that will appear in promotional packages for years to come.
The young Chilean is a towering force at 155lbs, standing at 6'3" he is a giant amongst most lightweight fighters, and he often uses his height and reach advantages expertly, keeping his opponents away as he snipes them from the outside.
Ogden may not have the same physical gifts as Bahamondes, but "The Samurai Ghost" is a talented athlete who will by no means be a lamb to the slaughter against the Chilean.
After losing his debut to Jordan Leavitt by split decision, Ogden was much more assured in his next outing, a unanimous decision win over Daniel Zellhuber.
A confident wrestler and submission grappler, Ogden does his best work on the ground where he tirelessly works for positions and submissions against opponents, this has led to him picking up an impressive 11 wins by submission out of his 16 career wins.
Although this may appear to be a standard striker vs grappler affair it is much more than that, a win for Bahamondes in impressive style forces the division to take notice of him and move him closer to the promised land of the top 15.
A win for Ogden over such a talented prospect is huge for his confidence and proves to everyone who doubted him he belongs in the UFC and isn't just here to make up the numbers.
Key Stats
- Ignacio Bahamondes has finished both of his UFC wins.
- Trey Ogden has never been knocked out in his 21-fight career.
Suggested Bets
- Ignacio Bahamondes to win by KO/TKO.
Steve Garcia vs Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
Two fighters looking to stamp their mark on the UFC featherweight division square off as Steve Garcia faces Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.
Despite impressive victories on the regional circuit, Garcia originally struggled in the UFC, dropping his debut to Luis Pena before defeating an overmatched Charlie Ontiveros and finally losing in devastating fashion to Maheshate by first round knockout.
Now Garcia has found his feet in the octagon though, he looked incredibly impressive as he stopped Chase Hooper in a return to featherweight, a performance so good it earned him a bonus cheque for $50,000.
Nuerdanbieke also struggled in his UFC debut, dropping his opening fight to Joshua Culibao by unanimous decision at a time when a large proportion of fans didn't know how good Culibao was.
But much like Garcia, Nuerdanbieke has found his form at 145lbs and is currently on a three-fight win streak defeating Sean Soriano, TJ Brown and Darrick Minner.
Competition comes naturally to Nuerdanbieke and his career total of 49 professional fights show that, but if he looks to continue his momentum in the UFC, he must begin to finish his opposition more convincingly.
If Garcia can continue his momentum from the Hooper fight, he will be an incredibly dangerous opponent for Nuerdanbieke, sporting legitimate knockout power and great wrestling means that Garcia will be comfortable wherever the fight ends up.
Key Stats
- Steve Garcia has alternated wins and losses in the UFC, and his last fight was his win over Chase Hooper.
- Shayilan Nuerdanbieke has won 19 of his professional fights by knockout.
Suggested Bets
- Steve Garcia to win by KO/TKO.
Sam Hughes vs Jaqueline Amorim
The opening fight of the night sees unbeaten submission specialist and former LFA strawweight champion Jaqueline Amorim take on Sam Hughes.
Winning the belt in LFA is normally a great indicator of success and Amorim looks to fit that mold well as she bulldozed each of her opponents to get signed by the UFC without ever having left the opening round.
Hughes has been used by the UFC as a testing ground for young talent before, previous prospects Istella Nunes and Elise Reed fell foul of the test however Luana Pinheiro and Piera Rodriguez passed with flying colours.
Only Tecia Torres has managed to finish Hughes inside the UFC, however her toughness is often for nothing as she has failed to impose her game plan and get the job done in four of her six UFC appearances.
This should be a comfortable victory for Amorim, her bulldozing style and high-level submission threat is enough to make any opponent fearful, however if Hughes can drag this fight out as long as she can the inexperience of Amorim could show and she could have a path to victory.
Key Stats
Jaqueline Amorim's only non-submission victory was a KO inside ten seconds of round one at LFA 110.
The only UFC fight of Sam Hughes' career to end in round one was a doctors stoppage loss at the end of the round against Tecia Torres.
Suggested Bets
Jaqueline Amorim to win the fight by submission in round 1.
