UFC PHILADELPHIA AND UFC RUSSIA SHAPING UP

The UFC was occupied announcing bouts for upcoming fight cards lately, and under are my thoughts on a few of those newly-announced bouts for UFC Philadelphia and UFC Russia.
Josh Emmett vs. Michael Johnson, UFC on ESPN 2 Featherweight contender Josh Emmett will return from a lengthy layoff when he takes on Michael Johnson in UFC on ESPN 2, which takes place March 30 in Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ESPN broke news of this struggle. Emmett (13-2) is 4-2 in the UFC but has not fought since a brutal KO loss to Jeremy Stephens in February 2018. He rocketed up the rankings with a knockout win over Ricardo Lamas however, the loss to Stephens where he broke his nose was a big setback. Johnson (19-13) is 11-9 at the UFC and is coming off of back-to-back decision wins over Andre Fili and Artem Lobov. But he'd lost three straight fights before that. Though Johnson is inconsistent, we know how good he is when he's at his finest, as well as Emmett coming off of such a lengthy layoff you need to fade him and favor Johnson to win this fight.
Ray Borg vs. Pingyuan Liu, UFC on ESPN two Ray Borg will move up to bantamweight if he takes on Pingyuan Liu at UFC on ESPN 2. The Philly Voice broke news. Borg (11-3) is currently 5-3 at the UFC but hasn't fought since a submission loss to Demetrious Johnson in October 2017. He was one of the greatest flyweights from the UFC but will soon be moving up to bantamweight now and it's going to be interesting to see if he could make a run in his new weight class. Liu (13-5) is riding a nine-fight win series including a 2-0 mark in the Octagon with wins over Damian Stasiak and Martin Day. Though he is moving up to bantamweight, there's no doubt Borg is going to be a large favorite here just according to his UFC expertise and level of competition.
Marcin Tybura vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov, UFC Fight Night 149
Heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Shamil Abdurakhimov will square off UFC Fight Night 149, set for April 20 at Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Tybura (17-4) is 4-3 at the UFC and won a decision over Stefan Struve in his last outing. Abdurakhimov (19-4) is 4-2 at the UFC and is coming off of back-to-back wins over Andrei Arlovski and Chase Sherman. It is heavyweight MMA so you can never be sure of the result, but I believe Tybura is the better fighter and ought to be favored here.
Emil Weber Meek vs. Sultan Aliev, UFC Fight Night 149
Welterweights Emil Weber Meek and Sultan Aliev will even fulfill at UFC Fight Night 149. Meek (9-4, 1 NC) is 1-2 at the UFC and is coming from consecutive losses to Kamaru Usman and Bartosz Fabinski. Aliev (14-3) is 1-2 at the UFC and is coming from a TKO loss to Warlley Alves. Both men are disappointments in the UFC, but Meek usually gets more respect from bettors and that I suppose he will be preferred here.
Krzysztof Jotko vs. Roman Kopylov, UFC Fight Night 149
And finally, a middleweight bout will visit Krzysztof Jotko take on UFC newcomer Roman Kopylov at UFC Fight Night 149. Jotko (19-4) is 6-4 in the UFC however is driving a three-fight losing skid including back-to-back KO losses to Uriah Hall and Brad Tavares. Kopylov (8-0) is making his UFC debut after going undefeated on the Russian regional arena. It is difficult to back Jotko after his current win series, and I expect the undefeated Kopylov are the preferred here.
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