Preview: UFC Fight Night 200 Prelims

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Featherweights

NR | Hakeem Dawodu (12-2-1, 5-2 UFC) vs. NR | Michael Trizano (9-1, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Dawodu (-165), Trizano (+145)

This is an intriguing fight and a surprisingly crucial one for each of these men. Dawodu has had an interesting career thus far. Identified as one of the top prospects in Canada early in his professional career, matchmaking issues with the World Series of Fighting threatened to stall Dawodu’s career through inactivity. Come 2018, Dawodu was free of any contractual obligations and signed with the UFC, figuring to finally fight a regular schedule while working his way through the featherweight division. Naturally, the fates conspired against Dawodu once again, as he lost his UFC debut in stunning fashion, quickly getting stunned and tapped out by Danny Henry in just 39 seconds. He seemed to take some lessons from the loss, working a bit more defense into the powerful striking attack that makes the core of his game, and the result was a five-fight winning streak. Dawodu’s preference to counter still makes for some closer fights than you would expect given his thudding power, but he has turned into every bit the Top 15 to Top 20 featherweight that most expected early in his career. The question now becomes whether or not Dawodu can work his way to title contention. His most recent fight resulted in a game effort against Movsar Evloev but saw him consistently get controlled by one of the most dogged and talented wrestlers in the division. Up next is a bit of a trap fight in a bounce-back position, as Trizano seems to be one of the more underrated 145-pound competitors in the UFC. Trizano was not a particularly inspiring winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” back in 2018, as “The Lone Wolf” was the epitome of a solid but unspectacular fighter, able to hold his own anywhere but mostly leaving it to his opponents to actually lead the dance. Trizano could usually turn that into a win by being the better fighter, but it did not do much to leave a lasting impression. During his time on the UFC roster, Trizano has adopted a bit more of a pressure approach that at least forces the issue, and his combination of well-roundedness and durability has made him a consistent round winner, even if he has left himself open to being controlled by stronger wrestlers. It has yet to coalesce into anything awe-inspiring, but Trizano has quietly managed to hold his own against more talented fighters just through being a tough out, including in his return from a two-year layoff to beat Ludovit Klein in May. He might be able to do that here, too. While Dawodu has done better to lead, he is still very much a fighter who prefers to counter his opponents, and it is easy to see this becoming a shot-for-shot affair where neither man is able to separate himself from the other. There does not seem to be much chance of either changing things up with wrestling. Dawodu does not look for takedowns, and he has shown the level of takedown defense that Trizano does not figure to exploit by pivoting to that approach. Dawodu is still the harder hitter, so he is the rightful favorite, but as always, Trizano figures to make this ugly. The pick is Dawodu by narrow decision.

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