The UFC is coming back to the UFC APEX arena for the third straight week. This time, the card is being headlined by two flyweight contenders in Jessica Eye and Cynthia Calvillo. Other notable fighters on the card are Marvin Vettori, Ray Borg, Andre Fili and a few other bangers promising to bring fireworks to the card.
Last week Ian Heinisch briefly had to pull out of UFC 250 because one of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. Regional champion Anthony Ivy was signed to fight Geralnd Meerschaert on short notice as a result. The test turned out to be a false positive, so Heinisch was back in for the fight and Ivy out. But now Ivy will make his debut a week later against fellow newcomer Christian Aguilera.
Anthony “Aquaman” Ivy
6’2″
Welterweight
30-years-old
San Antonio, Texas, US
Brazilian Top Team Texas
8-2
5 KO/TKOs
3 Submissions
How will Ivy fare in the UFC:
Ivy is a wrestler first. He made a splash on the regional scene in his last bout beating top prospect Willis Black, winning the WXC title. On the feet, he throws a good head kick but for the most part, relies on just exploding forward to close the distance. He’s really good pressuring opponents against the cage dropping levels and getting the fight down. Ivy is good at switching between single legs and double legs using his hips to pull the legs towards him to earn takedowns. Ivy can finish with ground and pound and by submission. He’s pretty good in scrambles which is where he has a tendency to lock in those submissions.
Ivy has a high work ethic always pushing the pace. He’ll work at a steady rate never slowing down in three straight rounds. On the feet, his defense is still questionable if he can’t find the takedown. As Ivy is strong on the mat sometimes he can get too reckless and lose position. Overall a good and much-deserved signing.
Christian “The Beast” Aguilera
5’9″
Welterweight
28-years-old
Brea, California, US
Total MMA Studios
13-6
10 KO/TKOs
How will Aguilera fare in the UFC:
Christian Aguilera is an action fighter who is a finisher through and through. He has finished 10 of his 13 fights and all ten are by KO or TKO. On the feet is where he is the most dangerous. He’s a pure power puncher with a few highlight-reel knockouts in his career. Outside of being a lights-out striker, Aguilera is a clean technical boxer. He throws a lot of feints and fakes setting up combinations or setting up the finishing blow. He throws a good one-two, attacks the body well, throws a lethal uppercut, and just altogether mixing it up with his hands.
Aguilera loves to stand and trade, as most of the time he has been the hammer— but sometimes he’s been the nail. He’s been dropped a few times and finished by strikes four times. Not that he has a bad chin but his willingness to stay in the pocket not moving his head has resulted in him getting cracked. Aguilera has decent wrestling and his ground and pound on top is his shining weapon there. I don’t think his wrestling will be used much, at least not successfully in the UFC, but he has it to fall back on. His biggest weakness is probably his takedown defense as his grappling off his back is even more of a struggle for him. Still Aguilera is a good signing and a fun one at that. Aguilera has put his time in on the regional scene fighting good competition, has a lot of experience, and is only 28-years-old. Look for some fun fights and some possible big knockouts from him.
How do Ivy and Aguilera match up?
This is a classic wrestler (in Ivy) versus striker (in Aguilera) fight. When it comes to wrestling, Ivy has a huge advantage. His aggressiveness and control on the mat can easily stall Aguilera. On the feet, we haven’t really had a chance to see how Ivy does if he can’t get those takedowns. Aguilera is likely the much better striker and nothing we’ve seen from Ivy says he can out-strike him or knock him out. I’m leaning Ivy though, just because of the superior wrestling. Also, Ivy is the bigger fighter so the likelihood of him just wrestling Aguilera all fight is possible.
