Preview: UFC Fight Night 243 Prelims

A healthy list of preliminary rounds accompanies the Ultimate Fighting Championship on its annual trip to Paris this Saturday at the Accor Arena. Light heavyweights take center stage on the UFC Fight Night 243 undercard, with promotion newcomer Ivan Erslan getting a chance to make a statement in the featured spot against Ion Cutelaba and France’s Oumar Sy – the group’s top prospect – facing Da in a tough one Woon Jung is put to the test. Additionally, Ludovit Klein returns to action at 155 pounds, and two fights should help improve the lower echelons of the women’s bantamweight rankings.

Now for the UFC Fight Night 243 prelims preview:

Light heavyweights

Ion Cutelaba (17-10-1, 6-9-1 UFC) vs. Ivan Erslan (14-3, 0-0 UFC)

OPPORTUNITIES: Cutelaba (-122), Erslan (+105)

Will things ever really work out at Cutelaba? The Moldovan was just 22 years old when the UFC acquired him in 2016, and at the time he appeared to be a versatile talent who would find enough success to continue developing under the UFC banner. Cutelaba certainly had its moments, but it’s a bit difficult to be optimistic about how things turned out with The Hulk. At some point, Cutelaba lost the ability to control his aggression, turning most of his fights into a race to the finish. Cutelaba charged out of the gates, attempting to overrun his opponents, either on their feet or by slamming them to the mat, and either succeeded quickly or fell off the rails, trying to force things until he eventually finished himself off. The strange thing is that every now and then Cutelaba can muster enough pace to put together three solid rounds. However, it is now unclear whether that will be enough to stay in the win column. In a win in 2021, he managed to defeat Devin Clark for three rounds before hitting a rough patch recently, but Cutelaba’s performance in his last fight still resulted in a decision loss to Philipe Lins in March. Cutelaba could use an impressive performance against a UFC newcomer in Erslan, who is a pretty good signing for the promotion. The Croatian’s game is so limited that he has little chance of winning a championship, but he has had a successful career and brings enough knockout power to cause problems in the light heavyweight division. Erslan is a muscular athlete just looking to hit, which is a mixed picture. He can be a little too patient when it comes to picking points to attack, but then tends to go wild looking for a target once he actually gets into action. Still, he hits hard, and that’s often half the battle in these heavier weight classes. Cutelaba could have a lot of success in this appearance, especially with his wrestling, but it’s hard to imagine him remaining evasive and refusing to engage with Erslan; And if it turns into a brawl, it’s difficult to give Cutelaba the benefit of the doubt at that point, especially against a hard hitter. The choice falls on Erslan by knockout in the first round.

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Cutelaba against Erslan
Sy versus Jung
Klein vs. Roberts
Lapilus vs. Morales
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