UFC St. Louis Preview and Prediction: Alonzo Menifield – Carlos Ulberg

On the main card of UFC St. Louis, we are going to see a big time matchup in the light heavyweight division. Alonzo Menifield (15-3-1) will be looking to defend his spot in the rankings as he takes on Carlos Ulberg (9-1) who is looking to leap frog into the light heavyweight rankings.

Starting with Ulberg, he had a lot of hype behind him when he entered the UFC. He comes from the City Kickboxing camp and earned himself a roster spot on Dana White’s Contender Series. He lost his octagon debut in a fight he was doing incredibly well in, but that loss humbled him. Since then, he’s won five in a row most recently a late submission win over Da Un Jung.

Standing across from him tomorrow night is 11th ranked Alonzo Menifield. Menifield is 4-0-1 in his last five fights. The one draw was against Jimmy Crute and the two men ran things back immediately. In the second fight, Menifield won by second round submission.

In his last fight, Menifield took on decorated striker Dustin Jacoby. The fight was very even through two rounds and Jacoby was starting to pull away. However, Menifield showed off his ungodly power and nearly stopped Jacoby in the final round. It was enough to win the final round and win a decision earning him the 11th spot in the UFC rankings.

UFC St. Louis Prediction

Carlos Ulberg is the better striker. He’s the more technical striker and on paper, he should win the fight if things stand on the feet. However, you cannot overlook the sheer power of Alonzo Menifield and that’s what makes this fight tricky. We’ve seen Menifield come from behind on the heels of his power which carries throughout the fight.

Again, Dustin Jacoby was a much better striker on paper, but the power made the difference. That said, Ulberg carries a lot of power himself. So, who wins at UFC St. Louis? Alonzo Menifield has the great equalizer in his power, but I really like Carlos Ulberg in this matchup.

I think he’ll be able to land more consistently from distance and his power will be enough to keep Menifield from rushing in too wild. I think we see a more technical fight than some expect and I think we see a decision at UFC St. Louis going in favor of the light heavyweight from New Zealand.

Prediction: Carlos Ulberg by Decision