The UFC is continuing it’s strong push to the finish out 2016 with another Fight Night card this coming weekend in Melbourne, Australia. The card features a very important Middleweight fight between a couple of top prospects sitting smack in the middle of the rankings at #7 and #8 in Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson. Both of these guys are on 5 fight winning streaks and a win this Saturday will put them right into the title contention conversation.
Some other fighters featured on this card include top prospects Jake Matthews vs Andrew Holbrook as the co-main event, and some other well known fighters in Kyle Noke and Chris Camozzi. This card is definitely built around the main two fights and Australian/New Zealand talent, but overall there are a lot of exciting fights that will be fun to watch.
As always I’m going to be using the odds from BetOnline.ag for this article. Here’s our full BetOnline review for you to check out if you’re interested in opening an account and placing some bets.
Robert Whittaker vs Derek Brunson
I actually think either of these guys could easily compete for the title right now, but the reality of the Middleweight Division is that they will likely need to follow up a win in this fight with another win over a guy in the top 5 to realistically get the title shot. Both guys have easily handled the fighters lower in the rankings and it’s now time to show they can continue putting up wins against the elite.
Derek Brunson has absolutely been thrashing guys since losing via TKO to Yoel Romero (who will likely be fighting for the title next) back in January of 2014. He went on to beat Lorenz Larkin (who has impressed himself lately) via unanimous decision and since then has finished 4 straight fights in the first round. This includes an absolutely dominant TKO over Uriah Hall in his last fight in the Octagon.
Whittaker has also continued to impress with decision wins over solid fights in Uriah Hall and Rafael Natal in his last two fights. He also finished solid fights in Brad Tavares and Clint Hester before those decision wins.
I really like Whittaker at Middleweight, and fighting at home is definitely an advantage for him, but I look at Derek Brunson and I see a monster that will likely be a champion in the near future.
Brunson has a wrestling base as a 3 time Division II All-American and he’s added some ridiculous striking abilities and exceptional power. His last two losses in MMA came to Yoel Romero and Jacare Souza, so he has only really lost to the elite in the division, while making light work of most others. I expect him to overwhelm Whittaker, land a big punch and TKO him similar to how Wonderboy finished him off in Whittaker’s last loss.
Jake Matthews vs Andrew Holbrook
Holbrook suffered his first MMA loss after being KO’d by Joaquim Silva in his second fight for the UFC this past July. I’m expecting him to get his second loss in Australia this Saturday.
At just 22 years old, Matthews is exactly what the UFC is looking for in a prospect. Yes, he’s only 2-2 in his last four fights, but I think the recent loss to Kevin Lee says more about Lee as a very high end prospect than Matthews. After his initial loss to James Vick, Matthews came back strong with a couple finishes over Arreola and Case. He looked very good in those fights, but jumping up to Lee was a bit too much in his first fight out of Australia/New Zealand. He’s back in his home country for this fight and I’m expecting to see some more improvements and likely another finish.
Dan Kelly vs Chris Camozzi
I think this is a perfect spot for an underdog pick on an old guy that has largely flown under the radar in his five fight UFC career. Dan Kelly was a Judo fighter for the majority of his life, competing in 4 different Olympic games over the course of 20 years. He recently decided to focus on MMA and has had a lot of success. His most recent win was over Antonio Carlos Junior via TKO in Brisbane back in March. He was almost finished in that fight, but persevered and eventually used his judo skills to secure a takedown and finish off the Brazilian with ground and pound.
Camozzi is a good fighter, but he’s very susceptible to being taken down, having just a takedown defense of 62% for his career. That’s simply not good enough takedown defense against a high level judoka such as Dan Kelly. I expect Kelly to get this fight to the mat and either pound out Camozzi or get a submission to finish the fight.
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