Preview: UFC 290 Prelims

Bantamweights

Cameron Saaiman (8-0) vs. Terrence Mitchell (14-2)
Odds: Saaiman (-520), Mitchell (+380)

It's a long climb up the UFC's bantamweight ladder, but Cameron Saaiman has shown enough at age 22 to remain worth watching. Like teammate Dricus Du Plessis, Saaiman's best attribute thus far has been his persistence; things may not always look perfect, but "MSP" puts on enough pace and aggression that he's been able to find a breaking point for most of his opponents. Thus far, both of the South African's UFC fights have been messy but entertaining; he found his typical late-fight rally against Steven Koslow last December, while his decision win over Mana Martinez in March was a much more nip-tuck affair notable for the amount of fouls. Saaiman was initially marked for a matchup against fellow young gun Christian Rodriguez, but thanks to a Rodriguez injury, he'll now take on a blast from the past in UFC newcomer Terrence Mitchell. Alaska's Mitchell is best known for his stint on the all-flyweight season of TUF back in 2016, where he quickly got knocked out by Kai Kara-France - and apparently he's stayed on the UFC's radar despite long stretches of inactivity in the years since. Mitchell has some athletic potential in a vacuum, but he's mostly relied on that to force some chaos and run over a subpar level of competition on the Alaskan scene; there's a chance he could make something happen, but it's much likelier than not that Saaiman's own messy aggression blows open one of the many holes in Mitchell's game. The pick is Saaiman via first-round knockout.

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