UFC London
- Thread starter mrpickem
- Start date
mrpickem
SDQL Badass Stat Boss
UFC London: Prelims
- Dalby Decision ...Dalby's a hot and cold fighter. On good days, he can drag Till to a draw and claim victories over Daniel Rodriguez and Alex Oliveira. His downfall is controlling his preferred pace, preventing opponents from ever gaining a foothold. Versus a 39-year-old Silva, this shouldn't be an issue as Silva can’t match the pace Dalby will set on the feet. Potentially a good opener.
- Bohm Decision ...Bohm was frozen on the feet under consistent volume from Ariane Lipski and found no way to get into the fight. Not that Leonardo has fared much better. A snapped arm against Melissa Gatto and a brutal TKO stoppage at the hands of Manon Fiorot have been Leonardo’s return in the UFC. Bohm’s athletic edge to get the W in a regional-level affair.
- Herbert KO ...Terrible positional awareness and pocket fighting ended up biting Herbert in his last outing, but with free reign in the center, he's a brutal technician. Considering Nelson rarely has a definite game plan to seamlessly integrate his wrestling/striking, it's difficult to see him getting inside Herbert’s reach.
- Mokaev Decision ...UFC debut for Johnson, and he brings a 4-fight streak into the big leagues. Johnson tries with strikes on the outside to find holes, yet in the process, often primes himself for takedowns. Against a mat magician like Mokaev, it could be an ugly affair.
- Amirkhani Early Sub ...Amirkhani has struggled over recent years with SBG forcing the Finn to kickbox. On his day, he is a terrifying early-round
submission threat. Gas tank troubles have plagued his career, however, an area that Pearce thrives in. Giving Amirkhani his ideal fight early, though, seems like a recipe for disaster. - Wood Decision ...Despite the two-year gap, Nathaniel Wood finds himself a gentle return to the division. Wood’s issues stem from his preference for low kicks and leading with his chin. Rosa has an eye for a counter, but he rarely pulls the trigger.
- Diakiese ITD ...Between Hadzovic’s tendency to be out-wrestled and an inability to push a hard pace...it leaves only the potential of a Diakiese mental meltdown for the Brit to lose this one. Diakiese is a plus athlete, who has regularly shown the ability to dig deep, and is a class or two above Hadzovic.
- Mason Jones Decision ...Both Nate Landwehr and Mike Trizano have broken down Klein in the past with pressure. Jones is a madman who will consistently walk opponents down with clean combinations. The Slovak is a powerful sniper, who when flowing, is one of the classiest strikers in the division. But sans an early Klein kick taking Mason’s chin by surprise, this should be a brutal FOTN war with Jones pulling away in the later rounds.
mrpickem
SDQL Badass Stat Boss
UFC London: Main Card
PAUL CRAIG(16-4-1) VS VOLKAN OEZDEMIR(17-6) ~ Light Heavyweight (205)
- Oezdemir KO ...You gotta love a bit of Paul Craig on any card, yet it wasn’t so long ago that the corpse of Shogun Rua almost stopped the gassed Scotsman. Patient and calculated on the feet, Oezdemir works angles well and creates visibly awkward striking affairs for opponents. Craig will struggle massively to handle Oezdemir at range or in the pocket. When you consider Oezdemir holds an 80% career TDD despite facing the likes of Ankalaev, Cormier, Anthony Smith, and Cirkunov – the hopes of a grappling battle start to fade fast.
MOLLY MCCANN(12-4) VS HANNAH GOLDY(6-2) ~ Women’s Flyweight (125)
- McCann ...It surprises me that Meatball is getting such a push, maybe the visual of her and Paddy celebrating together again? She is an entertaining, highly aggressive striker – but lacks counter-punching and can be outwrestled. Goldy is solid on the mat but struggles to settle into her takedowns under heavy duress. McCann will lay down a voluminous gauntlet and prevent Goldy from catching her breath.
- Krylov Sub ... 35 years old and a shadow of the former title contender, Gus probably should have laid down the gloves after his embarrassing 1st-round sub loss to Werdum. The jab, the power, the shot selection on the outside – all the components that made Gus great have been missing since the Jon Jones rematch loss. Expect Krylov to get it done with busy kickboxing, control time, and eventually break Gus on the mat.
- Pimblett Early KO ...The twerk machine, Jordan Leavitt, is a fun one-trick pony who should forge an entertaining career outside the rankings. Without a wrestling threat to take the fight to the mat, however, this should amount to a punishing beatdown on the feet. Without technique or confidence on the feet, Leavitt’s offensive threat is muted, but can never amount to zero against Pimblett’s chin-first striking.
mrpickem
SDQL Badass Stat Boss
UFC London: Co-Main Event
JACK HERMANSSON(22-7) VS CHRIS CURTIS(29-8) ~ Middleweight (185)- Hermansson ...Hermansson likely sits on his jab, allowing Curtis to land his trademark left hook over the top of it, but Jack’s strong chin should keep him ticking. Curtis’ bodywork is vital to his game, but it rarely scores on judges’ scorecards. Hermansson’s long, consistent jab will earn him rounds. Add in Curtis’ slow starts and short notice and Hermansson likely gets an opportunity to gain confidence at his preferred pace.
Original writeup, but the money is coming in on Curtis and I don't think he will start slow today, so I flipped.
mrpickem
SDQL Badass Stat Boss
UFC London ~ Main Event
CURTIS BLAYDES(16-3) VS TOM ASPINALL(12-2) ~ Heavyweight (265)- Blaydes ITD ...I would love to get aboard the Aspinall hype train, but Blaydes represents another huge leap in opposition quality. Not to say this isn’t a tight call. Blaydes has an ugly habit of persisting with his striking early on rather than settling into a better-suited gameplan. Aspinall is blazing fast on the feet and is set to punish Blaydes’ powerful yet lumbering straight shots. Additionally, Aspinall’s arsenal of subs off his back may limit Blaydes’ dangerous GnP. Still, we have no evidence of Aspinall digging deep and adapting late into contests vs the top talent – unlike Blaydes. Curtis has only lost to the mightiest one-shot power punchers, in contrast to Aspinall’s drowning volume. A great main that should set up either contender for an interim title shot. I'm rooting for Aspinall, but the smart side is the experienced fighter...my action will likely be small on this one so I can still enjoy a limey victory if it happens.
I may flip to Tom here as well, surprised to see the line all the way out to Aspinall -150...that just doesn't make sense but if I win the co-main I may follow the money.
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albundy2127
Active Member
Thanks for all your writeups!
