Danny Barlow and Sam Patterson meet Saturday on the UFC Fight Night 253 main card at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson UFC Fight Night 253 preview
Barlow (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will seek to extend his undefeated professional record into the double digits. Barlow turned in a solid debut 2024 campaign, picking up a stoppage of Josh Quinlan and a split decision over Nikolay Veretennikov, although he missed weight for the latter bout. … Patterson (12-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) stumbled in his UFC debut in 2023, but bounced back with a strong 2024. He picked up a pair of first-round submission wins over Yohan Lainesse and Kiefer Crosbie to erase the sting of his debut loss.
Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson UFC Fight Night 253 expert pick, prediction
Despite my desire to tear into the matchmakers for their crooked card formats, I can’t argue with this potential welterweight war between Barlow and Patterson that they chose for the main card opener.
Although I have had my eye on Barlow since Jump Street, I’ve admittedly become more of a fan of Patterson after this recent review of his fight tape.
Sam Patterson, who faces Danny Barlow at #UFCVegas103, is 0-0 against UFC-level lefties but beat Vinicius Cenci on DWCS.
Patterson is also 2-0 against SP’s in Brave CF. He shows outside-foot awareness, bodywork and will actually jab southpaws.
Left hands are his common culprit: pic.twitter.com/oCsLXFc79u
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) February 28, 2025
Aside from having a devastatingly sneaky front-choke game, you can tell that Patterson is well-trained by the way in which he conducts himself in the cage. From circling to the appropriate side to actually using his jab in open-stance affairs, Patterson will be a fun fighter to watch progress going forward.
However, despite Patterson’s solid sensibilities, the Englishman’s inherent height allows his head to be a tetherball of a target for opponents to take swats at (as left-sided strikes are his common culprit).
I don’t blame anyone for taking a small flier on the underdog to win by submission, but the official pick for me is Barlow by knockout in Round 1.
Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson UFC Fight Night 253 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the American fighter, listing Barlow -300 and Patterson +235 via FanDuel.
Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson UFC Fight Night 253 start time, how to watch
As the main card opener, Barlow and Patterson are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:10 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.
