The UFC is back in Australia and we have an epic card ahead of us, this article will be breaking down the fights from the Featured Prelim to the final fight before the main events!
The time has finally come, Australian UFC fans have been waiting since October 2019 for the next event on home soil! The UFC has put on a treat for us with two title fights on the line and a bumper-to-bumper card with some familiar faces including Alexander Volaknovski, Yair Rodriguez, Jack Della Maddalena, Justin Tafa and Jimmy Crute to name a few.
My name is Cameron Layfield or by my alias “CammySmooth” on Dabble. I have been studying, reviewing and predicting fights for many years in my quest to provide insight, betting analysis and in-depth fight breakdowns. In this article, I will be breaking down the featured prelim and the main card to get you absolutely amped for the upcoming card in Perth! Co-Main Events will be coming in separate articles. So let’s get into the UFC 284 breakdown!
JACK DELLA MADDALENA vs RANDY BROWN
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What a way to build ourselves into the co-main events than an absolute battle in the Welterweight Division. What we have in this fight is two athletes in the best form of their careers. Jack Della Maddalena tore the house down against Danny Roberts winning in 3:24 seconds of the first round. That fight hit an epic milestone for Maddalena who notched his 13th win in a row and will be looking to make Randy Brown #14 in devastating fashion. For Randy Brown, he will be looking to make a statement in this fight as he has gone four wins in a row with three of those wins by decision, a win over Jack Della Maddelena will be a huge statement to the division.
Since winning his UFC contract on the contender series Jack Della Maddelena (13-2-0) he has been on a tear in the division going three wins in a row and two of those by knockout. I expect more of the same from this gifted striker and I feel Jack’s overall striking is 10x better than what I have ever seen from Randy Brown. The 26-year-old’s gameplan coming into this fight was quoted as saying “I’m going after him from the get-go.”, “I’m going to try to get him out of there in the first round – and if not it’ll be in the second”. When you are bringing that mentality and combining it with fighting in his hometown in Perth, expect fireworks.
Randy Brown(16-4-0) is a great talent and has been in the UFC for quite a while now. Brown is decent with his striking and will look to leverage his clinch work and grappling ability to wear down Maddalena. Randy has proven when he is given the opportunity on the ground he can work his way into submission, the man has 5 submission wins and three of those were in the UFC. Randy Brown is tall, has a reach advantage and can be exhausting to fight against. This is going to be the toughest test for Maddalena yet.
All in all, I believe Jack Della Maddalena is going to be too precise, too quick and too powerful for Randy Brown. That being said Maddalena will need to ensure he is patient, controls the octagon and is intelligent when coming in and out of the pocket due to the sheer range of Randy Brown. I predict this fight to end in a round 1 knockout for Jack Della Maddalena.
Quick Facts:
- Jack Della Maddalena has a win rate of 86.7% with 11 wins by KO/TKO, 1 win by Submission and 1 win by Decision.
- Jack Della Maddalena’s quickest finish was in 01:12 by Knockout against Aldin Bates.
- Jack Della Maddalena has won in round 1 58.3% of the time and 41.7% in round two.
- Randy Brown has a win rate of 80% in 20 fights with 6 wins by KO/TKO, 5 wins by submission and 5 wins by decision.
- Randy Brown’s quickest win was in 01:53 by submission against Warlley Alves in the UFC.
- Randy Brown has been finished in round 2 in both of his losses.
JUSTIN TAFA vs PARKER PORTER
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It’s time for the big boys to come out to play in this heavyweight showdown in Perth. The Pride of Brisbane Justin Tafa finally gets his long-awaited return to the UFC after multiple cancelled fights in all of 2022. For Parker Porter, it’s the story of redemption. After beating the likes of Alan Baudot, Josh Parisian and the worst heavyweight fighter in history, Chase Sherman; he met his match in Jailton Almeida who finished him inside of the first round by RNC. Both fighters are coming off a decent layoff and will be eager to be clanging and banging in the middle of the octagon until someone goes to sleep or in Tafa’s case… too decision because the man just doesn’t get finished.
Justin Tafa (5-3-0) has only ever won his fights by knockout and he did exactly that in his last fight against Harry Hunsucker after overcoming the adversity of his two prior losses. As you can imagine with the vast majority of Heavyweight Fighters, Tafa is going to be looking to patiently build up his attack until he lands a clean strike (kicks or punches). From this point Tafa can be extremely versatile, he can push you up against the cage, follow you up with continuous pressure or he can simply use his underrated grappling ability to smother you to the ground.
Parker Porter is an aggressive fighter who is constantly working to control the middle of the octagon and outstrike you until he lands one perfectly. The man can land plenty of strikes in a short period of time and has surprisingly good cardio for a big man. If I can explain Parker Porter in one sentence it would be this. Parker Porter lands 6.49 strikes per minute with 49% accuracy, he is also absorbing 6.32 strikes per minute with a 52% defensive percentage.
All in all, I firmly believe that the raw power and strength of Justin Tafa is going to be far too much for Parker Porter. I think that Tafas southpaw stance will definitely come into effect and to be perfectly honest… Porter has shown areas of which Tafa can exploit, he has lost by knockout 3 times and has been submitted 3 times. Tafa is the much better fighter in this fight and I’m backing the Aussie to the moon to win by KO/TKO.
Quick Facts:
- Justin Tafa has finished his opponents 100% of the time all by way of KO.
- Justin Tafa’s average fight length is 03:40.
- Justin Tafa’s quickest UFC win came in 01:53 against Harry Hunsucker.
- Parter Porter has a 63% win rate – 4 by KO, 4 by Submission and 4 by Decision.
- Parker Porter has been finished in round 1 85.7% of the time when he has lost.
- Parker Porter’s quickest win came in 01:09 by Submission.
JIMMY CRUTE vs ALONZO MENIFIELD
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This is going to be an absolutely crazy fight, both are incredibly versatile fighters who can knock you out and also submit you in a blink of an eye. Aussie fans will be on the edge of their seats for this fight and it’s going to be up there in the fight of the night contention.
Jimmy Crute (12-3-0) is currently in a bit of a rut in the UFC with two straight losses to some big talent including Anthony Smith and the new Light Heavyweight Champion – Jamahal Hill. In the UFC Jimmy Crute has beaten the likes of Modestas Bukauskas, Michal Oleksiejcjuk and Paul Craig so it’s the same to say Jimmy Crute is no joke and one to watch out for.
Alonzo Menifield (13-3-0) is currently on a two-fight win streak over the likes of Misha Cirkunov and Askar Mozharov and this is the most important fight of his career. Menifield has absolutely incredible power and this could be a worry for Jimmy Crute as you can imagine this fight to be a game of chess when it comes to getting reads and setting up shots for a finish.
I expect this fight to remain on the feet for the most part of the fight however Menifield will need to be wary of Crutes grappling ability as he averages 4.87 takedowns per 15 minutes with 75% accuracy. Both fighters are near neck and neck in striking statistics in terms of Significant Strikes landed, accuracy and strikes absorbed. I personally think this fight is incredibly hard to pick but I am at this stage siding with the Aussie again. Whilst I believe Menifield has the power to absolutely walk over Crute, I see Crute being far more versatile in his all-around skillset and will leverage this to control the fight and set up a finish inside the distance.
Quick Facts:
- Jimmy Crute has an 80% win rate in 12 fights – 41.7% by KO, 33.3% by submission and 25% by decision.
- Jimmy Crute loves a first-round finish and has finished his opponents 88.9% of the time in Round 1.
- Out of all of Crutes’ losses, he has always finished in round 1.
- Alonzo Menifield has an 81.3% win rate in 16 fights – 69.2% by KO, 23.1% by Submission and 7.7% by decision.
- Alonzo Menifield has finished in Round 1 75% of the time and in round 2 25% of the time.
- Alonzo Menifield’s fastest win came in 8 seconds by Knockout.
TYSON PEDRO vs MODESTAS BUKAUSKAS
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Australia’s own Tyson Pedro (9-3-0) is taking on Modestas Bukauskas(15-5-0) in the featured prelim for the card. The 31-year-old Aussie has been in fine form as of late in his UFC career bouncing back from back-to-back losses and turning it into back-to-back wins over the likes of Ike Villanueva and Harry Hunsucker by Round 1 finishes! Bukauskas has returned to the UFC after being dropped after three straight losses and a brief stint in Cage Warriors.
I firmly believe that Tyson Pedro will be far too much for the likes of Bukakukas. Tyson Pedro has arguably had some easy wins since returning from injury but arguably has been disappointed when coming against stronger competition. That being said, I can see this fight going the exact same way. I personally feel that Bukauskas falls into that same bucket where he is just an average fighter. When breaking this fight down I feel that Tyson is going to be in Baukauskas face and try to get some significant strikes in the clinch as Pedro comes in an out of the pocket. If Pedro leverages his grappling skills which have worked for him in the past, I can’t see Bakauskas being able to do absolutely anything to keep him off guard.
Quick Facts:
- Tyson Pedro has a finish rate of 100% with 4 wins by submission and 6 wins by KO/TKO.
- Tyson Pedro has won in round one 90% of the time.
- Tyson Pedro’s quickest win came in 00:31 by knockout.
- Modestas Bukauskas has a finish rate of 84.6% with 8 wins by knockout, 3 wins by submission and 1 win by decision.
- Modestas Bukauskas has finished in round 1 50% of the time and also has been finished in round 1 75% of all of his losses.
- Modestas Bukauskas’s quickest win came in 02:36 by Knockout.
SUMMARY
Well there you have it, that is my breakdown of the featured fights of the card up until the Co-Main Events. Stay posted to TheMockSports.com.au for upcoming fight breakdowns for Yair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett and Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski.