UFC Vegas 85 continues with a fight between Landon Quinones and Marquel Mederos. Quinones lost his short-notice opportunity in his most recent fight, while Mederos has each of his last six fights with back-to-back knockouts as he makes his UFC debut this weekend at UFC Vegas 85. Quinones (7-2-1) was the Titan FC lightweight champion before getting the opportunity to compete on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter. He lost his fight on the show but then was given a short-notice opportunity six months later where he went to war with Nasrat Haqparast for 15 minutes but ultimately lost via unanimous decision. Quinones will be looking to finally get his first win with the UFC when he takes on promotional newcomer Marquel Mederos. Mederos (8-1) made quick work in his appearance on the Contender Series knocking out his opponent Issa Isakov as an underdog in the first round. He is now riding a six-fight unbeaten streak with four of those six wins coming by knockout. Mederos will be looking to extend his winning streak to seven when he makes his UFC debut this weekend against Landon Quinones at UFC Vegas 85. Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings. Landon Quinones: +110 Marquel Mederos: -130 Over 2.5 rounds: -125 Under 2.5 rounds: -105 Landon Quinones was the former Titan FC Lightweight Champion which got him the opportunity to compete on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter where he was ultimately finished by former UFC fighter Jason Knight in less than a minute. That still however got him the short-notice call-up to face off against Nasrat Haqparast after his opponent pulled out of the fight. Quinones had a back-and-forth war with Haqparast that he eventually lost via unanimous decision. Now, Quinones has his eyes set on his first UFC victory with a full camp ahead of him when he takes on promotional newcomer Marquel Mederos. Quinones showed that he has the fighting style that Dana White and UFC brass love. Which is the always pressure forward, throw caution to the wind, and get after it. That’s exactly what you can expect for him to do in this matchup against Marquel Mederos who’s also a striker by trade. Mederos is a fighter that needs to operate with someone to utilize his footwork and movement to land his counters and if Quinones can stifle that by always making him fight off of his back foot he could get his first UFC victory and cash in as the underdog. Marquel Mederos is a product of Factory X MMA over in Colorado training under the tutelage of head coach Marc Montoya. He got his shot on the Contender Series after five straight victories and he made the most of his opportunity knocking out the favored Russian Issa Isakov in the first round. Now, Mederos gets to make his UFC debut against fellow lightweight Landon Quinones. Much like his counterpart, Mederos does his best work on the feet but he has more diversity in his game than Quinones. Mederos utilizes his speed and footwork to counter and punish his opponents as they attempt to come within range. Quinones is a fighter that takes one to give one and it will be at a point where he will not be able to take one and get put down. Mederos has the power to sit even someone as tough as Quinones down and if he can operate with lateral movement instead of getting backed up to the cage he could potentially punish Quinones getting his first victory inside the octagon. This should be a great scrap in the lightweight between these two fighters who are looking to make a statement in their first UFC victory. Landon Quinones certainly has the experience edge against the better competition but his style of striking seems perfect for someone like Marquel Mederos to exploit. Mederos does a good job at avoiding power shots and countering overly aggressive fighters which is what we have with Quinones. Ultimately, as long as Mederos doesn’t get into a backyard brawl with Quinones he can utilize his superior movement and pick him apart range to either a late finish or a unanimous decision for his first UFC victory. Final Landon Quinones-Marquel Mederos Prediction & Pick: Marquel Mederos (-130), Over 2.5 Rounds (-135)
