Two high profile matchups are declared for upcoming battle cards, and my initial thoughts on both are under.
Kevin Lee vs. Rafael dos Anjos, UFC Fight Night 151
Kevin Lee is done with lightweight as he will move up to welterweight and choose on former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Fight Night 151. The event is set for May 18 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.
Lee (17-4) is 10-4 in the UFC with all of his previous bouts taking place in lightweight. After losing a choice to Al Iaquinta in his last bout, Lee hinted he could be moving up a weight class as at age 26 he’s grown from his lightweight framework. Though he will not have the size advantage he did down at 155lbs, with his quality wrestling abilities and enhanced striking Lee should nevertheless be a solid competitor at 170lbs, an the UFC is throwing him to the fire in his divisional introduction against a former title challenger in dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos (28-11) is 17-9 in the UFC and has turned out to be equally an elite lightweight and welterweight. But at age 34, he’s finally showing signs of a decrease with successive decision losses to Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Losing to these fighters on newspaper isn’t a massive deal, but the Usman struggle was a blowout and it is possible all of the damage has really taken it’s toll on him now. Still, I’d give RDA a fantastic chance to beat Lee in this fight. With Lee’s popularity and childhood benefit I expect him to be put as a decently-sized favored, making RDA an intriguing puppy play if that’s really true.
Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Blachowicz, UFC 239
The first bout added to UFC 239 is a great one, as former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will proceed up to light heavyweight to take on Jan Blachowicz. The card occurs July 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke news of the bout.
Rockhold (16-4) is 6-3 overall in the UFC, together with all of his previous bouts coming at middleweight. He hasn’t competed since a KO loss to Yoel Romero in UFC 221 in February 2018, and his last victory was a TKO win over David Branch in September 2017. Despite the lengthy layoff, Rockhold is still an extremely intriguing addition to the UFC light heavyweight division. It wasn’t that long ago when Rockhold was the best middleweight on the planet when he won five consecutive struggles by finish in the UFC over Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Costa Philippou and Tim Boetsch. His shocking KO loss to Bisping from the pair’s rematch in June 2016 will go down as one of the game’s greatest all-time upsets and Rockhold has really struggled since then. On the other hand, the thought procedure is that his chin ought to be sturdier moving up a weight class, although that remains to be seen.
Blachowicz (23-8) is 6-5 in the UFC and also was pumped out by Thiago Santos at an expected light heavyweight title eliminator. Prior to this, Blachowicz had won four straight fights by stoppage and was looking like a title contender. The reduction to Santos shows his true place in the division, as a luxury gatekeeper who isn’t quite ready to fight to the belt. That’s why this is good matchmaking from the UFC. Blachowicz is highly rated yet beatable, therefore there’s a good opportunity Rockhold defeats him and takes his place in the top-five, making him an immediate contender for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones if that occurs. Look for Rockhold for a solid favorite heading into the particular bout.
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker is going to be paid if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.
Read more: mma versus
