UFC 278 will take place from the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, August 20. The main event will be a fight between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards for the UFC Welterweight championship. The main card has five fights and the preliminary card is scheduled for four bouts scheduled at 8 p.m. ET. The early preliminary card starts at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass. The final match on the early preliminary card is between welterweights A.J. Fletcher and Ange Loosa.
Fletcher (9-1) won his first nine fights in MMA and earned a UFC contract with an impressive flying knee knockout of Leonard Damiani in Season 5 of Dana White's Contender Series. His first fight under the UFC umbrella was a decision loss to Matthew Semelsberger and now Fletcher is looking for a second chance to make a first impression.
Loosa (8-3) is also coming off a loss, a decision to Mounir Lazzez at UFC Fight Night on April 16, 2022, but it came in a two-week turnaround from a previous fight. The Congo-born striker has had plenty of success in smaller promotions and looks to put it all together on the front end of a PPV card.
How to watch AJ Fletcher vs. Ange Loosa
Date: Saturday, August 20
Fight time: Early preliminary card starts at 6:00 p.m. ET
Live stream: UFC Fight Pass
DraftKings Sportsbook Odds/Predictions
Fletcher: -150
Loosa: +130
Splits: 96% of handle, 71% of bets on Fletcher
Fletcher is probably the more complete fighter with his strikes and takedowns while Loosa is the longer, more dynamic fighter. It's a tough matchup. Fletcher should have some success in the ground game if he can get close, but Loosa is so long that he can win a fight at distance. I am leaning toward Loosa hitting a big strike and getting a split decision.