Miocic vs Cormier - suspect Cormier won't go dropping his hands and showboating on Miocic and look for an early stoppage ala his first win, and not drag out the finish with his hands like he did that gave Miocic time to adjust and put him away late in the fight. Cormier by stoppage in the 3rd round and rides off into the sunset as the best HW of the UFC promotion.
O'Malley vs Vera - it's always hard to say if O'Malley has that kinda style that puts away lesser fighters impressively then falters the further up the food chain he goes (think Houston Alexander or many other fighters who have a crowd pleasing style that picks guys off outside the top 10). Vera is no slouch, he lacks a big notable win, but has also quietly picked up a number of stoppage wins (2 RNCs, 3 TKO's in his last 6 fights). I think the pick here is O'Malley by decision as Vera will be hard to put away, but the reach and movement of O'Malley will keep him out of harm's way for much of the fight. O'Malley but decision over 3 rounds with a variety of strikes, punches, kicks, and spins.
Jairzinho vs Dos Santos - had Jairzinho not come out the gate like a madman, I could see him having stopped Ngannou much akin to how he did Alistair. Jairzinho made it to the 5th round with one of the most accomplished strikers in MMA/Kickboxing of all time. So, he has the acumen and wherewithal to do so, but he blitzed Ngannou and got clipped. I should hope that was a learning moment and he'll adopt a smarter approach against the equally well-schooled veteran Dos Santos who we know can fight 5 rounds. Jairzinho has only gone do a decision 1 time, over in Rizin. Dos Santos is coming off 2 stoppage losses (Ngannou, and Blaydes). It's hard to say that at HW he's in the decline of his career just because he lost twice by stoppage as guys like Arlovski and Overeem can drop a fight or 2 or more and still come back to put together 3 and 4 fight win streaks later in the careers (amazing considering every single human in this weight class can feasibly knock the other out due to their sheer size and power). I think Jairzinho and his punches at odd angles and reach will prove problematic for Dos Santos and Jairzinho puts himself back on the fast track to some big names with a stoppage win here.
Burns vs Pineda - Herbert's sole losses came over in ONE FC. Otherwise has has 11 wins, 9 of which are stoppages. 8 of those are submissions. Pineda is coming in with the odd situation of having his last 2 wins overturned due to a positive steroid test in the PFL tournament. Pineda is being brought in to notch another HL win for Burns. Easy pick here. Burns by RNC.
Dodson vs Dvalishvili - can Dvalishvili put the brakes on Dodson's frenetic in and out and endless foot movement? Dvalishvili put on a masterful striking + takedown clinic in his last fight but Dodson is about as fleet of foot as they come. The gameplan to beating Dodson has been implemented by fighters with wins over him like Moraes, Rivera, Yan, & Lineker. Visually, to offset the movement and in and out style he utilizes, taking the center of the Octagon and not getting baited into running around after him is key. Chopping his legs with kicks or punching as he darts in are ways to not allow the judges to mistake you for being a plodding fighter getting picked off via movement and accuracy. Dodson will be extremely hard to get a hold of and hold down. I suspect Dvalishvili can do that at least one round, and pick up another round with his ever improving striking. If he can make it look like Dodson is fleeing and running away rather than coolly avoiding his forward movement, he can pick up a decision win.
Miller vs Pinchel - consummate veteran Miller vs Pichel who slowed the hype train of Roosevelt Roberts recently. Gregor Gillespie did was Gillespie does to anyone not named Kevin Lee, which leads me to believe that Miller will get the submission win here. Pichel started his career with an impressive number of stoppage/striking wins but that has since petered out against stiffer competition and unless Miller gets caught with an errant strike I see Miller dragging him to the mat and submitting him.
O'Malley vs Vera - it's always hard to say if O'Malley has that kinda style that puts away lesser fighters impressively then falters the further up the food chain he goes (think Houston Alexander or many other fighters who have a crowd pleasing style that picks guys off outside the top 10). Vera is no slouch, he lacks a big notable win, but has also quietly picked up a number of stoppage wins (2 RNCs, 3 TKO's in his last 6 fights). I think the pick here is O'Malley by decision as Vera will be hard to put away, but the reach and movement of O'Malley will keep him out of harm's way for much of the fight. O'Malley but decision over 3 rounds with a variety of strikes, punches, kicks, and spins.
Jairzinho vs Dos Santos - had Jairzinho not come out the gate like a madman, I could see him having stopped Ngannou much akin to how he did Alistair. Jairzinho made it to the 5th round with one of the most accomplished strikers in MMA/Kickboxing of all time. So, he has the acumen and wherewithal to do so, but he blitzed Ngannou and got clipped. I should hope that was a learning moment and he'll adopt a smarter approach against the equally well-schooled veteran Dos Santos who we know can fight 5 rounds. Jairzinho has only gone do a decision 1 time, over in Rizin. Dos Santos is coming off 2 stoppage losses (Ngannou, and Blaydes). It's hard to say that at HW he's in the decline of his career just because he lost twice by stoppage as guys like Arlovski and Overeem can drop a fight or 2 or more and still come back to put together 3 and 4 fight win streaks later in the careers (amazing considering every single human in this weight class can feasibly knock the other out due to their sheer size and power). I think Jairzinho and his punches at odd angles and reach will prove problematic for Dos Santos and Jairzinho puts himself back on the fast track to some big names with a stoppage win here.
Burns vs Pineda - Herbert's sole losses came over in ONE FC. Otherwise has has 11 wins, 9 of which are stoppages. 8 of those are submissions. Pineda is coming in with the odd situation of having his last 2 wins overturned due to a positive steroid test in the PFL tournament. Pineda is being brought in to notch another HL win for Burns. Easy pick here. Burns by RNC.
Dodson vs Dvalishvili - can Dvalishvili put the brakes on Dodson's frenetic in and out and endless foot movement? Dvalishvili put on a masterful striking + takedown clinic in his last fight but Dodson is about as fleet of foot as they come. The gameplan to beating Dodson has been implemented by fighters with wins over him like Moraes, Rivera, Yan, & Lineker. Visually, to offset the movement and in and out style he utilizes, taking the center of the Octagon and not getting baited into running around after him is key. Chopping his legs with kicks or punching as he darts in are ways to not allow the judges to mistake you for being a plodding fighter getting picked off via movement and accuracy. Dodson will be extremely hard to get a hold of and hold down. I suspect Dvalishvili can do that at least one round, and pick up another round with his ever improving striking. If he can make it look like Dodson is fleeing and running away rather than coolly avoiding his forward movement, he can pick up a decision win.
Miller vs Pinchel - consummate veteran Miller vs Pichel who slowed the hype train of Roosevelt Roberts recently. Gregor Gillespie did was Gillespie does to anyone not named Kevin Lee, which leads me to believe that Miller will get the submission win here. Pichel started his career with an impressive number of stoppage/striking wins but that has since petered out against stiffer competition and unless Miller gets caught with an errant strike I see Miller dragging him to the mat and submitting him.
No comments:
Post a Comment