UFC Fight Night 160: Hermansson vs. Cannonier - Predictions and Picks

#4 Ion Cutelaba vs. Khalil Rountree

Ion Cutelaba is one of the 205lbs division's heaviest hitters

If this battle between two of the most powerful 205lbers on the UFC roster lasts for more than a round, I’d honestly be surprised. Sure, Khalil Rountree went the distance in his last fight – a largely dominant decision win over the undersized Eryk Anders – but the majority of his fights have been finished in the first round. Ion Cutelaba, on the other hand, has just two decisions on his record, and the way he fights is fuelled by pure aggression.

What makes this fascinating is that Cutelaba probably has a relatively simple way to win this one, should he choose to go that way. Although he prefers to strike, berserker-style, with his opponents, he’s also a pretty excellent wrestler with powerful takedowns and a solid top game, thanks to his background in Greco-Roman wrestling and Sambo.

Rountree, on the other hand, has shown in the past that his ground game is painfully lacking. Andrew Sanchez simply spammed takedowns in their fight – the finals of TUF 23 back in 2016 – and took a comfortable decision despite being badly outsized, while Tyson Pedro easily dealt with him once he took him down.

‘The War Horse’ was also beaten by Michal Oleksiejczuk largely in the clinch – another strong area for Cutelaba – although that fight was overturned due to a positive PED test for Oleksiejczuk, while Johnny Walker outright knocked him out from the clinch with some vicious elbow strikes.

Essentially then, this really ought to be Cutelaba’s fight to lose – if he could be trusted not to trade blows with Rountree. ‘The Hulk’ hits hard, that’s for sure, but he’s also at a reach disadvantage in this fight and he’s also very stiff on the feet while Rountree is a far more relaxed and comfortable striker. And he’s shown that he can be hurt standing before – both Glover Teixeira and Jared Cannonier rocked him – and Rountree is a heavy hitter, too.

In the end though, I’ve got to go with Cutelaba here. Nothing that Rountree has shown in the past suggests he’s got enough to fend off the Moldovan fighter from close range – whether that’s in the clinch or in terms of takedown defense – and even if he can clip Cutelaba, unless it’s a one-punch KO job then I can easily see Cutelaba getting inside and dumping him before he can follow up. Stylistically, this should be Cutelaba’s fight.

The Pick: Cutelaba via first round TKO