Gonna go out on a limb and say Whittaker takes a decision. I'm inclined to agree the burnout theory as to why he lost the fight with Adesanya (as anyone having fought Romero multiple times can really accumulate damage/mileage). I think the Blachowicz fight showed also that takedowns across open space and against the cage are the surest path to victory and I think Whittaker is not nearly as flat on his feet as Blachowicz. What Blachowicz also did was utilize great head movement to not let Adesanya mark that range with the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd punch that ends with the kicking combinations etc. It may also have been that Adesanya was reticent to kick in front of Blachowicz knowing the blast double was coming. I think if Whittaker utilizes a more varied gameplan and can pin Adesanya against the cage or just shoot from range early in the round after mixing it up with feints and leads and headmovement, he can take 3 of the 5 rounds.
Tuivasa vs Lewis: you can never bet against the Black Beast, it's that simple. I think Lewis hurts and finishes Tuivasa in the 1st or 2nd round.
Cannonier vs Brunson: Cannonier is the more consistent fighter as Brunson has looked great against some guys and slipped against others lower in the ranking (not that I put that much stock in the "rankings" but against guys with less impressive resumes/bodies of work). I think Cannonier takes this one if it stays upright, and Brunson takes it if he's able to put Cannonier on his back 2 or 3 out of 3 rounds. If I had to bet money, I'd take Brunson with a wrestle heavy top game.
Moicano vs Hernandez - Moicanao is a guy I've always been impressed by since he returned to the UFC. His striking is dangerous as is his JiuJitsu. Moicano by submission.
Arlovski by decision over yet another upstart in the HW division.
Bobby Green vs Haqparast - Green has losses to more notable guys as he's got a much longer UFC resume, with losses to Fiziev, Trinaldo, Moises, Klose et al. Haqparast recently came up short against Dan Hooker which isn't a knock as I think Hooker is literally a spot or 2 removed from winning a belt depending who's holding it. Haqparast has wins over Silva, Diakiese, and Munoz. This is a tough one to call as both guys are in the same range of picking up wins over competent opposition but also have lost when moving up the food chain. I'd go with Haqparast as I think Green's ability to adjust and improve on the areas of the fight pertaining to the current wave of MMA has lost a step.
No comments:
Post a Comment