Rani Yahya is favored against Henry Briones at UFC Fight Night 114 on Saturday in Mexico. Yahya has had more success in the UFC than Briones but Briones will have the home crowd edge with this fight taking place in Mexico City. Yahya is 8-3-1 in the UFC, while Briones is 1-2 in the UFC. This fight is one of four preliminary bouts that can be seen on FS1, leading up to a six-fight main card, also on FS1, that features Sergio Pettis taking on Brandon Moreno. Let’s look at Briones vs. Yahya and UFC picks.
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Henry Briones (16-6-1, 1-2 UFC)
Briones made his UFC debut in 2014 and defeated Guido Cannetti by 2nd round submission. Briones lost his second UFC bout, as he was beaten at UFC 189 in July of 2015 by Cody Garbrandt. Briones lost last year, as he was knocked out by Douglas Silva de Andrade.
Briones is a solid striker but he doesn’t have a lot of talent on the mat and that could be a major problem against a fighter like Yahya. Briones will have the home crowd edge but that is really his only advantage.
Rani Yahya (23-9-1, 8-3-1 UFC)
Yayha had won four straight fights before losing to Joe Soto in March of this year. Yahya has been very consistent in his career, winning eight times in the UFC and losing just three times.
Yahya said to Globo.com that he changed his training after the loss to Soto. “I think I was always struggling in an over training state and did not notice. But it was my fault, I was my own head coach, and it ended up sabotaging me, "said Yahya.
The altitude in Mexico could be an issue on Saturday so Yahya arrived in Mexico City early. "I arrived in Mexico City two weeks in advance and I already have a training routine that aims to help me adapt at altitude. I do not think there's going to be a problem. I have trained in some places with altitude and I did not feel a very big difference, nothing very glaring. I think I'll do well. "
Yahya said that the style of this fight is perfect for him. "Briones likes to play boxing very much, he's a fighter, he relies a lot on his hand, he loosens jab, and uppercuts. He does well in this kind of fight. Against Cody Garbrandt, he was the only one who was not knocked out by Dominick, but it's a game that's good enough for me. He accepts to be put down, his Jiu-Jitsu is more of survival anyway; I think this is good for my game. "
UFC Picks
I don’t see how Briones can win this fight unless it goes to a decision and he gets the benefit of the crowd support. I think Yahya has all of the edges, so I will lay the price and take Yahya to get the win.
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UFC Fight Night 114, also known as UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno, takes place on Saturday, August 5 at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico with the headliner a bout between Sergio Pettis and Brandon Moreno. There are six fights on the main card on FS1 and six preliminary bouts, with four on FS1 and two on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (FS1)
Sergio Pettis -166 vs. Brandon Moreno (rounds 2.5 over -165)
Alexa Grasso -160 vs. Randa Markos (rounds 2.5 over -300)
Alan Jouban -165 vs. Niko Price (rounds 1.5 over -145)
Martin Bravo -300 vs. Humberto Bandenay (2.5 over -150)
Sam Alvey -155 vs. Rashad Evans (2.5 over -180)
Alejandro Perez -125 vs. Andre Soukhamthath (rounds 2.5 over -166)
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Jack Hermansson -250 vs. Brad Scott (rounds 2.5 over -140)
Dustin Ortiz -220 vs. Hector Sandoval (rounds 2.5 over -250)
Rani Yahya -160 vs. Henry Briones (rounds 2.5 over -120)
Jose Alberto Quinonez -238 vs. Diego Rivas (rounds 2.5 over -125)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Roberto Sanchez -140 vs. Joseph Morales (rounds 1.5 over -180)
Jordan Rinaldi -220 vs. Alvaro Herrera (rounds 2.5 over -150)
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