After racking up four one-sided wins, heavyweight contender Gilton Almeida is stepping up in line to fight Jairzinho Rosenstruck in UFC Charlotte’s main event, which takes place this weekend (Saturday, May 13, 2023) inside the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. Carolina. Also included is a volatile light heavyweight showdown between former title challenger, Anthony Smith, and the eclectic Johnnie Walker, as well as Daniel Rodriguez vs. Ian Machado-Jary and Tim Means vs. Alex Morono.
We still have four UFC Charlotte “Prelims” bouts to check out first, though (check out the first installment here). let’s hurry…
170 lbs: Matt Brown against. McGee Court
Matt Brown (23-19) – who suffered back-to-back defeats to Miguel Baeza and Carlos Condit – clawed his way back into the win column with a one-punch finish to Diego Lima. The Immortal then fell short in a split decision loss to Brian Barberina, although he scored his eighth post-fight bonus in the UFC in the process.
His 21 professional finishes include 15 by knockout.
Court McGee (22-11) has his first winning streak since 2013, edging back-to-back Claudio Silva and Ramiz Brahimage. This led to a fight with Jeremiah Wells, who gave McGee the second knockout loss of his career with a vicious left hook.
‘Ripper’ stands an inch shorter than Brown at 5’11”.
On paper, this fight is tailor-made for McGee. Increasingly, Brown’s heart conditions have forced him to rely more and more on his wrestling the past few years, which plays into the hands of “The Crusher”. Even if McGee fails to remedy his many mistakes, his drive is never in question, and Brown isn’t much stronger than McGee nor a super technical takedown artist.
McGee has always enjoyed this level of wrestling.
That’s all if Brown hits him hard, of course, and that’s far from impossible. McGee can be strangely reticent to use his wrestling at times and Wells has horribly checked his chin. However, I don’t think Brown had enough left in the tank to handle McGee’s throttle pressure for any length of time before he ran out of steam. In the end, McGee claws his way back into the win pole.
Prediction: McGee by unanimous decision
265 lbs: Chase Sherman against. Carl Williams
These two were supposed to fight last month and my mind hasn’t changed, so I reuse what I have.
Almost two years after the promotion, Chase Sherman (16-11) scored his first UFC win since 2017, as he knocked out Ike Villanueva. He entered the cage on Saturday after losing five from six, although he claimed “Performance of the Night” to finish off Jared Vandera.
All but one of his career wins have come by knockout.
Upset decision regarding Jimmy Lawson’s Rivals Series Extended Carl Williams’ winning streak (8-1) to four and earned him a UFC contract. Debuting seven months later, he relied on his wrestling to pick up a decisive win over Lukasz Brzezki.
Sherman was originally scheduled to face UFC 287, but “The Vanilla Gorilla” pulled out due to medical issues on fight night.
Williams is, to put it mildly, a much less favorable match than Barnett’s inconsistent and diminutive competition. Sherman never had an answer for perennial wrestlers, as evidenced by his quick losses to Jake Collier and Alexander Romanov. And Williams’ hands are fast enough that I wouldn’t heavily favor Sherman in a pure fight, let alone the threat of takedowns looming over his head.
All Williams has to do to win here is follow the same game plan he used against Brzezki, which Sherman has no way of stopping. In other words, expect another weighty victory for Rivals Series project.
Prediction: Williams by unanimous decision
135 lbs: Cody Staman against. Douglas Silva de Andrade
Cody Staman (215-1) has gone from a 5-1-1 start to his UFC career to knocking down three straight, including a 47-second guillotine loss to Said Nurmagomedov. The “Spartan” has since returned to form with back-to-back wins, the latest of which was his victory over Luan Lacerda via unanimous decision in hostile territory.
He gives up an inch of height and 3.5 inches of reach to Douglas Silva de Andrade (28-5).
After a four-year drought ended, “D’Silva” hit the ground running with back-to-back stops over Gaetano Pirrello and Sergey Morozov, the latter of which earned him the “Fight of the Night” spot. This led to a confrontation with Said Nurmagomedov and – despite a spirited effort – Silva de Andrade ultimately failed to achieve all three scorecards.
He has knocked out twenty professional opponents and submitted two more.
I’d like to see Silva de Andrade finally get over the hump – he’s paid his due and is pure excitement in the cage. However, this is the level at which he constantly falls short. Stamann is an experienced, durable, capable wrestler who boasts a solid gas tank, all traits that have given “D’Silva” issues in the past.
Silva de Andrade can’t outsmart Staman the way Alamin Sterling and Merab Dvishvili did, catch him with opportunistic submissions like Nurmagomedov, or outsmart him like Jimmy Rivera. His only shot is to hurt Stamann, which none of the 12 UFC opponents of “The Spartan” have managed so far. Stamann can stand up to Silva de Andrade’s power and neutralize him with both takedowns and a sustained attack, so expect him to walk away with a decision win.
Prediction: Stamann by unanimous decision
205 lbs: Carlos Olberg against. Ihor Butria (20-3)
Carlos Olberg (7-1) eliminated Bruno Oliveira Rivals series to earn a UFC contract, only to lose “Fight of the Night” to Kennedy Nzechukwu in his debut in the Octagon. Black Jag has since won three in a row, including a pair of first-round knockouts over Tavon Nchukowi and Nikolai Negomerino.
Four of his five professional victories have come by first-round knockouts.
Ihor Buteria (20-3) capped a 15-fight winning streak by eliminating Lukas Sudolski. Rivals series, but found himself out of the game by Nicolae Negomerino the next time out. His sophomore effort came six months later, when he stopped Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 283.
The “Duelist” has a 1-inch height defect and a 2-inch reach defect.
I just can’t imagine this going so well for Potieria. As with most departments, he’s outplayed by Ulberg in his blistering technique, and Potieria’s improper cardio means he can’t count on his “Black Jag” lasting quite as well as Nzechukwu did. It’s not like Potieria has much of a wrestling attack, so he’s at the mercy of Ulberg’s entire kickboxing arsenal.
Potieria must mainly count on clipping Ulberg with a stray shot if he wants to win. This would have been an outside possibility if he had faced Ulberg earlier in the latter’s UFC career, but with Nzechukwu and Cherant fighting behind him, Ulberg has advanced to the point where he is a threat. In short, Ulberg melted it down with a counter in the first five minutes.
Prediction: Olberg via first-round technical knockout
I mean, at least it’s free, right? See you Saturday, you lunatics.
Current forecast record for 2023: 65-36-1
Remember that MMAmania.com It will provide comprehensive, blow-by-blow live coverage of the entire UFC Charlotte fight card herestarting from ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are set to begin at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ABC/ESPN+ 3 p.m. ET.
For the latest and greatest UFC Charlotte: Rosenstreak vs. Almeida news and highlights, be sure to check out our extensive event archive. here.