UFC 118 Preview: The Prelims

Andre Winner vs. Nik Lentz

The prelim slate for UFC 118 isn’t the best we’ve ever seen, but if you’re looking for a burner then Winner taking on Lentz in a legit violence party is as good a pick as any -- reason being that Winner and Lentz are both entertaining fighters, but for diametrically opposed reasons.

While Winner is one of the smoothest strikers in the lightweight division, Lentz is a mat specialist with legitimate wrestling skills. However, he is missing the striking to hold his own on the feet and often runs into trouble when trying to set up his takedowns. It’s the time Lentz spends in the pocket that will likely decide this feet. Winner can measure a killshot like few others and has the sort of intelligent movement that is rarely seen in the sport. It’s not the sort of combination that plays out in Lentz’s favor since he doesn’t set up his takedowns well and lacks the sort of supersonic shot to render such flaws irrelevant. Although Winner’s takedown defense is hardly impregnable, he’s good enough to keep himself from going horizontal the second Lentz gets his hands on him.

The frustration of Winner’s pot shots will force Lentz’s hand and turn this fight into a race between Winner’s power and Lentz’s takedowns. Tough as Lentz may be, he doesn’t have the chin to eat an overhand hammer from Winner. The prologue will be an entertaining scrap, but the only thing anyone will remember is the sight of Lentz getting chin-checked.