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#6 The Prelims: ESPN2 card
We’ve got four fights on the ESPN2 prelim portion of this show, and wow, the top fight is quite something. Unbeaten Gregor Gillespie takes on former title challenger Kevin Lee in the latter’s return to Lightweight. For me this comes down to whether Lee can stop the takedown. ‘The Motown Phenom’ is a far superior striker, but Gillespie is a former NCAA Division I national champion and is one of the best wrestlers in MMA. He’s also relentless at hunting for the takedown, something that can sap an opponent’s cardio. Given Lee’s cardio issues – at 170lbs as well as 155lbs – I’m leaning towards ‘The Gift’ here. He may face adversity early but eventually I think he’ll force Lee to succumb to his pace and take a decision in somewhat of a upset.
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At Featherweight, we’ve got another tremendous fight between Shane Burgos and Makwan Amirkhani. For me this should be Burgos’ fight to lose assuming he can avoid the early rush from ‘Mr Finland’. ‘The Hurricane’ is a huge 145lber with a long, powerful frame and he’ll likely dwarf Amirkhani in the cage. Throw in his remarkably smooth striking skills, and I think he’s got enough to land big shots on the Finn to wear him down for a decision.
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Veteran Brad Tavares returns at Middleweight to face off with Edmen Shahbazyan in what should be an interesting test for the newcomer. Tavares is strong in all areas but isn’t a great finisher and also hasn’t fought in over a year. Shahbazyan meanwhile has shown that he can grapple as well as strike, but he certainly hasn’t fought anyone on Tavares’ level just yet. For me this could be a wake-up call for the youngster, so I’m taking Tavares by decision, but a finish from Shahbazyan wouldn’t surprise me.
Finally Andrei Arlovski faces Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a fight that likely won’t be fun to watch. Arlovski won his last fight, picking apart a plodding Ben Rothwell, but Rozenstruik is younger, hits much harder and is also surprisingly quick for a big man. I think he turns Arlovski’s lights out early here – perhaps for the last time in the UFC.
