An in-depth look at the UFC Fight Night 88 FS1 preliminary card

UFC Fight Night 88 is set to go down live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is headlined by No. 7-Ranked bantamweight Thomas Almeida taking on fellow undefeated 135-pounder Cody Garbrandt.

Before we get to the main card, however, four fights are set to kick off the night on FS1, featuring a women’s bantamweight clash between two top-ten ranked opponents in Sara McMann and Jessica Eye. So let’s take a look at the four fights set to kick-off UFC Fight Night 88:

Fight 1: Erik Koch vs Shane Campbell

The first fight of the night takes place in the UFC’s deeply talented pool that is the lightweight division, between Erik ‘The New Breed’ Koch and Shane ‘Shaolin’ Campbell.

Koch (14-4) has been held away from the sport for a little over a year due to recurring injuries, with his last appearance in May of 2014 resulting in an upsetting first round finish at the hands of Daron Cruickshank at UFC Fight Night 40. Once upon a time, Koch was scheduled to fight Jose Aldo for the featherweight title, but both times the fight was cancelled due to injuries to both men. He’s now just 1-3 in his last 4 fights, in addition to his inactivity.

Campbell (12-4) was last inside the Octagon this past February on UFC Fight Night 83, where he dropped a unanimous decision defeat to James Krause. Campbell replaces Koch’s original opponent, Joe Proctor, who was forced to pull out of the bout citing an injury.

According to Best Fight Odds, Campbell is as much as a -190 favorite to take home the victory over Koch. Given Campbell’s extensive kickboxing career, that includes 62 professional victories, it’s hard to argue that ‘Shaolin’ won’t take home the win despite Koch being a longtime Tae Kwon Do black belt.

Fight 2: Jake Collier vs Alberto Uda

Next up is a middleweight clash between UFC veteran Jake …

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