Preview: UFC 255 Prelims

After his brother Orion got the finish earlier tonight, Louis Cosce gets one of his own in the very first round #DWCS pic.twitter.com/5pyoX4uZCz

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 19, 2020

Welterweights

Louis Cosce (7-0) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (5-2)

ODDS: Cosce (-370), Palatnikov (+310)

Debuting welterweights get a chance to show off their wares on the undercard. Cosce and his brother both won contracts on Dana White’s Contender Series in August. They were both originally slated to fight on this card, but with Orion Cosce injured, Louis will fly the flag for the family. Cosce has some potential as a knockout artist. While his first few wins were against questionable competition, he impressed in blasting Victor Reyna for that win on DWCS, which lasted just 72 seconds. He will take on Palatnikov, the UFC’s first fighter born in Hong Kong. Palatnikov is a bouncy kickboxer who had enough wrestling to get by on the Asian scene, but he will probably have to rely on his striking in the UFC. As far as this fight is concerned, Cosce looks like the better athlete and the harder hitter, though Palatnikov might wind up being stronger than advertised after spending some of his career as an undersized middleweight. The pick is Cosce via first-round knockout in a fight should help build a picture about what both men bring to the table.