For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.
Alonzo Menifield and Carlos Ulberg meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 56 from Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Menifield (15-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) and Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) look to keep their light heavyweight hot streaks alive. … Menifield has gone unbeaten in his last five outings, picking up four wins and a draw result. During this run, he has recorded two stoppages, submitting Jimmy Crute and knocking out Askar Mozharov. … Ulberg’s current winning streak is five, which includes four straight stoppages. After a decision over Fabio Cherant, Ulberg went on to finish Tafon Nchukwi, Nicolae Negumereanu, Ihor Potieria and Da Un Jung.
Filling out the main card is a light heavyweight showdown between Menifield and Ulberg.
Menifield, who has been experiencing a bit of a resurgence under the wing of Pat Barry, is quietly riding a four-fight winning streak since coming up short to the thick-set William Knight.
Although Menifield has the power to score the upset with a single shot, I’m not sure I can overlook the improvements and precision of Ulberg.
Both men have mean left hooks, but I suspect that Ulberg’s more educated lead hand and footwork will win the day.
From a betting perspective, it’s dog-or-pass, but my official pick is Ulberg by second-round knockout.
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the native of New Zealand, listing Ulberg (-265) and Menifield (+210) via FanDuel. It’s familiar territory for Menifield, who entered as an underdog in three straight fights, going 2-0-1 in that stretch. Over the same number of previous fights, Ulberg has been a consistent favorite, as he continued to rack up wins on his current five-fight winning streak.
As the fourth bout on the main card, Menifield and Ulberg are expected to make their walk to the octagon around 9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. PT). The fight broadcasts live on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.
For more detailed analysis from Dan Tom, check out his weekly show, “The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.”