Preview: UFC Vegas 105 Prelims

Bantamweights

Victor Henry (24-7, 3-2 UFC) vs. Pedro Falcao (16-4, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Henry (-218), Falcao (+180)

Two underrated veterans go at it in this one. Henry got the UFC call nearly a dozen years into his professional career, and “La Mangosta” took advantage of the opportunity, gaining some immediate notice with a hard-fought win over Raoni Barcelos in his UFC debut. As expected, Henry came to the UFC with a fully formed game and plenty of poise, mostly dedicating himself to a high-volume striking approach wherever possible despite some solid mat skills in his back pocket. It’s an approach that has been quite effective, allowing Henry to rack up some impressive wins, but at this point, he seems to have hit a clear ceiling. A November loss to Charles Jourdain—who cut down to 135 pounds and showed some surprising horsepower—served as a damaging result towards any hopes of Henry running up the ladder. He doesn’t get many matchmaking favors in his attempted rebound, as Falcao has a case for having the most talent relative to his lack of reputation in the division. The Contender Series is good for one or two baffling decisions per year, and in 2021, that included passing over Falcao, who scored a late finish and generally looked UFC-ready but had an ugly fight and took a while to heat up. Falcao wound up having his UFC debut delayed by about two and a half years, acquitting himself well despite losing to Victor Hugo on April 6. Falcao took the fight on days’ notice and probably would have gotten the win with a better gas tank. Falcao is at his best as a pressuring wrestler and grappler, and it would be nice to see him get a chance to establish himself with a win in this assignment; and there’s a decent chance he has the horsepower to turn this into a grind. However, Henry is a savvy bet who has been able to stay ahead of wrestlers before, so the lean is that he can outpace Falcao even if there are some rough moments. The pick is Henry via decision.

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