The Complete Guide to UFC on Fox 23: Shevchenko vs. Pena

The venerable Nate Marquardt headlines the Fox Sports 1 prelims.Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Welterweights

Bobby Nash (8-1; 0-0 UFC) vs. Li Jingliang (11-4; 3-2 UFC)

China's Li faces the debuting Nash, who comes in on short notice to replace Yancy Medeiros in a fun welterweight scrap. Li rebounded from a loss to Keita Nakamura by knocking out Anton Zafir in July, while Nash defeated UFC veteran Lewis Gonzalez in his last outing.

Nash is a talented young fighter with skills well beyond what his two years as a professional would suggest. He's a crisp striker with a thudding jab, hard low kicks and nice rhythm with his power punches, especially on the counter. He's a former Division I wrestler at Michigan State and has a bit of a grappling game to boot.

Li is well-rounded and entertaining. He's not the most defensively sound fighter, but he's an offensive whirlwind, slinging hard combinations and kicks on the feet, hitting slick trips and throws in the clinch, and hunting for submissions on the mat.

Prediction: If Nash wants to bang this out on the feet, he'll get himself in trouble with the quick-paced, dangerous Li, but if he falls back on his takedown game while mixing in the strikes, he'll be in much better shape. Nash wins a decision.

Light Heavyweights

Henrique da Silva (12-1; 2-1 UFC) vs. Jordan Johnson (6-0; 0-0 UFC)

Talented prospect Johnson, the final light heavyweight champion in the RFA organization, draws Brazil's da Silva in a well-matched fight. Da Silva had impressed in his first two UFC outings, finishing Jonathan Wilson and Joachim Christensen, before falling by submission to Paul Craig last month. Johnson, a former wrestler first at Iowa and then Grand Canyon University, has beaten solid regional competition on his way to the UFC.

Da Silva is dangerous everywhere. He throws vicious kicks at range and does brutal work in the clinch with knees and elbows, while even from his back he hunts for the submission. He's a bad wrestler, though, and doesn't have great cardio. Johnson is still a wrestler first—and a good one. He overpowers his opponent with takedowns and smothers him, working either with strikes or toward a submission finish.

Prediction: If Paul Craig could repeatedly take da Silva down and control him, Johnson can do the same. The debutant grinds out a one-sided decision.

Light Heavyweights

Marcos Rogerio de Lima (14-4-1; 3-2 UFC) vs. Jeremy Kimball (14-5; 0-0 UFC)

Kimball steps up on late notice to take on Brazil's de Lima in a fun light heavyweight scrap. De Lima has been up and down in the UFC, and he lost his last fight by submission to Gadzhimurad Antigulov in November. Kimball has won four in a row on the regional scene since a loss to longtime UFC competitor Chris Camozzi.

De Lima is an all-or-nothing fighter. He throws bombs on the feet, does punishing work in the clinch and can finish from top position with strikes or submissions. Kimball is a mean, durable brawler who puts together creative combinations and isn't afraid to bang it out in the pocket or the clinch. He isn't much of a wrestler or grappler, though.

Prediction: Kimball is game, and de Lima doesn't have much after the first few minutes of a fight, but the Brazilian should find some way to get it done early. De Lima snags a submission in the first round.

Middleweights

Eric Spicely (9-1; 1-1 UFC) vs. Alessio Di Chirico (10-1; 1-1 UFC)

Italy's Di Chirico meets on the American Spicely in a solid scrap at 185 pounds. Spicely, a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter 23, shocked the world with a huge upset of Thiago Santos in September after dropping his debut to Sam Alvey. Di Chirico has split his two fights, falling to Bojan Velickovic and then winning a decision over Garreth McLellan in his return engagement.

Spicely can do a bit of everything. He throws competent combinations on the feet but mostly looks to get inside, where he can work takedowns and then try to scramble to the back or snag a submission. Di Chirico is well-rounded and works at a great pace everywhere, melding his smooth combination striking with his wrestling and opportunistic grappling game on the mat.

Prediction: Di Chirico is the better athlete and more dangerous fighter. He finds a submission in the second round.

Bantamweights

Aljamain Sterling (12-1; 4-1 UFC) vs. Raphael Assuncao (23-5; 7-2 UFC)

Sterling was one of the hottest prospects in the UFC, winning four straight over good competition to begin his UFC career, but he fell short in a close fight with Bryan Caraway last May. Now trying to reclaim some momentum, Sterling gets a tough draw in longtime contender Assuncao, who had a seven-fight winning streak snapped by TJ Dillashaw in July.

This is a great matchup and a fight with real implications for both men in the increasingly stacked bantamweight top 10.

Sterling is quick, athletic, diverse and unorthodox. He likes to fight long on the feet, using front, spinning, side and round kicks to set a long range. The real strength of his game is his combination of wrestling and grappling, which focuses on scrambles. Sterling is a particular master of getting to the back. On the downside, Sterling isn't a great boxer and can be taken down himself.

Assuncao can do everything well. He's a crisp, skilled striker who works at a quick pace and has a particular knack for counterpunching, but he's also an excellent offensive and defensive wrestler who can either keep it standing or hit takedowns at will. He does great work from top position as well.

Prediction: The outcome depends entirely on how much Sterling has grown since his loss to Caraway. If he is unable to work effectively in punching range and concedes takedowns, he's going to lose handily. If he's made improvements, though, he'll get it done. Sterling wins a close, back-and-forth decision on the strength of some well-timed takedowns.

Middleweights

Nate Marquardt (35-16-2; 13-9 UFC) vs. Sam Alvey (29-8, 1 NC; 6-3 UFC)

The veteran Marquardt tries to stay relevant against knockout artist Alvey in a fun middleweight scrap. Marquardt was a top fighter for many years, but age has caught up with the 37-year-old, who has suffered a series of devastating knockout losses. Alvey has won three fights in a row over the last six months, including a decision win over Alex Nicholson in November.

Marquardt has no gaps in his skills at this point in his long career. He's a crisp, dangerous striker with a potent jab and a gift for creative combinations, and he wrestles and grapples with equal skill. He struggles to take a punch, though, and that's a problem for a fighter who does his best work on his feet.

Alvey is a patient, heavy-handed southpaw counterpuncher. He doesn't like to lead, though he'll toss out the occasional punch or low kick to help him gauge the distance or find an angle and prefers to sit back and let his opponent come to him. Excellent takedown defense and a nasty guillotine choke help him keep the fight standing.

Prediction: The most likely outcome would be Alvey landing a flush counter right hook on Marquardt's faded chin, but if he can't land that shot, Marquardt's vastly superior skills and diversity of options should come into play. With that caveat, the pick is Alvey by knockout in the second round.