UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman - Predictions and Picks

#6 Deron Winn vs. Darren Stewart

Deron Winn is a protege of UFC legend Daniel Cormier

This one might be flying under the radar but for me it’s a fascinating fight as Winn is arguably one of the best prospects in MMA right now. A protégé of Daniel Cormier at the American Kickboxing Academy, Winn naturally has an outstanding wrestling background; he was a three-time Division I All-American at Lindenwood University in Missouri and also competed in the Team USA Olympic Trials.

After 4 early wins, Winn rose to fame after beating UFC veteran Tom Lawlor on the ill-fated Golden Boy MMA card last November, and then signed with the UFC, beating Eric Spicely in his UFC debut in June. Originally fighting at 205lbs, Winn will be moving to 185lbs for the first time here – a smart move given he’s only 5’7” and like Cormier, is built like a fireplug.

Stewart is more experienced at the UFC level as he’s now had 8 fights inside the Octagon and has won three of them, while also losing four. A tough, hard-hitting striker, ‘The Dentist’ has the ability to hurt most of his opponents – including Winn – but the issue here is going to be that he’s very much a throwback to an earlier era of UK MMA when it comes to his wrestling.

Simply put, the Brit struggles if a strong takedown artist puts a lot of pressure on him; he can stuff takedowns as evidenced when he TKO’d Spicely last year, but faced with a powerful wrestler in the form of Edmen Shahbazyan last December, he just couldn’t get anything going. Shahbazyan stayed on him like glue and despite running out of steam, comfortably outgrappled the Brit for a decision.

Given that Winn is far superior to Shahbazyan in terms of wrestling, it’s hard to see Stewart having much success here. He’s a more dangerous foe for Winn than Spicely was – and that means he’s the perfect step up for the AKA man – but assuming Winn sticks to his strengths, then I don’t see how he loses this one.

The Pick: Winn via unanimous decision