Preview: UFC Fight Night 183 Prelims

THERE'S THE TAP!

@KarlBabyK put his heart on full display at #UFCMoscow!

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— UFC (@ufc) November 9, 2019

Middleweight

NR | Karl Roberson (9-3, 4-3 UFC) vs. NR | Dalcha Lungiambula (10-2, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Roberson (-265), Lungiambula (+225)

This is a fascinating fight, and much of the intrigue comes from exactly what Lungiambula looks like at 185 pounds. A champion at heavyweight and light heavyweight on the South African scene, Lungiambula announced himself as a prospect to watch thanks to his impressive physicality. He also has a judo background upon which to fall back, but the standout skill for Lungiambula is watching him quickly close distance with frightening knockout power. Two fights into his UFC career, it is still difficult to parse exactly where Lungiambula stands. His UFC debut against Dequan Townsend was an easy win, both on paper and in practice, and his sophomore effort was an expected loss to Magomed Ankalaev. This cut to middleweight comes out of nowhere, particularly since it is unclear where Lungiambula is going to find 20 pounds to cut off his muscular frame. However, if he can make his way to middleweight while retaining all of his physical strength, there is the chance for him to become a dominant physical force going forward. Those possibilities make for a well-made fight against Roberson, who has been slowly improving since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017. “Baby K” came to the UFC via a kickboxing background, but he has done well to develop an effective and opportunistic wrestling game to supplement his precise striking. Roberson does have some clear weaknesses, however. He is not much of a knockout artist despite his accuracy, and he has struggled against stronger opponents who are willing to apply pressure and prevent him from finding his range. Lungiambula certainly has the tools to control this fight, but there is the worry that his striking output might be too low to make Roberson feel uncomfortable, along with the chances that he simply drains himself with this weight cut. Assuming Lungiambula looks like something approximating his light heavyweight self, he should be able to get this to the clinch enough to control this fight and take away most of Roberson’s best weapons. The weight cut makes this a coinflip, but the pick is Lungiambula via decision.

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