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

UFC Fight Night 88 is set to go down this Sunday evening, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is headlined by a showdown between two undefeated bantamweights in No. 7-Ranked Thomas Almeida and surging 135-pound prospect Cody Garbrandt.

The card is also co-main evented by the UFC featherweight debut of former bantamweight champion Renan Barao, as he takes on No. 9 ranked 145-pounder, Jeremy Stephens. Before we get to our two premier events of the evening, however, four fights in three different divisions are set to kick off Fight Night in ‘Sin City.’ With that being said, let’s take a look at the four bouts set to open up the main card on UFC Fight Night 88:

Fight 1: Josh Burkman vs Paul Felder

First up on the main card is a lightweight bout between two 155-pounders who are looking to get back on track, when Josh Burkman takes on Paul Felder.

Burkman (28-12-1) has only one victory to show for his last three Octagon appearances, most recently taking home a unanimous decision victory over K.J. Noons at UFC Fight Night 82 this past February. Burkman made his lightweight debut against Noons after an unsuccessful tenure at welterweight, that saw him being finished by the likes of Dong Hyun Kim and Patrick Cote.

Felder (11-2) is coming off of a third round submission victory over Daron Cruickshank via rear-naked choke, at UFC Fight Night 81 in January. Before his win over Cruickshank, Felder was on a two-fight losing skid when he suffered his first career losses to Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson, as he saw the losing end of a pair of decisions. His big win came via spinning backfist KO against Danny Castillo in January 2015.

While Burkman will hold the wrestling advantage, due largely in part to his college football background, Felder’s standup game may prove to be too much for Burkman to handle. Felder is no stranger to finishing fights, while Burkman has yet to finish in nearly two years since his days in WSOF.

Felder is a -325 favorite over Burkman, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see ‘The Irish Dragon’ leave Vegas with another stoppage win to add to his extensive resume.

Fight 2: Jorge Masvidal vs Lorenz Larkin

The second bout of the evening …

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