UFC 169 ‘Barao vs. Faber 2’ Preview

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Lightweights

Jamie Varner (21-8-1, 3-3 UFC) vs. Abel Trujillo (11-5, 2-1 UFC)

The Matchup: Varner takes the place of Bobby Green, who was forced to withdraw from the bout due to undisclosed reasons.

The change does not figure to affect the entertainment value of the fight, however, as Varner has proven himself willing to stand and bang when the opportunity presents itself. The former WEC titlist dropped a split decision to Gleison Tibau in his last outing at UFC 164, as he was unable to thwart the takedowns of the massive Brazilian. In most cases, Varner’s collegiate wrestling background allows him to fight as he chooses. He also has experience as an amateur boxer, with the overhand right as his most trusted weapon. Varner is versatile enough to mix in jabs, leg kicks and standing elbows.

The MMA Lab product might look to impose his will through takedowns and ground-and-pound here, however, because a brawl is right in Trujillo’s wheelhouse. The Blackzilians representative throws heavy power punches and vicious knees in hopes of achieving a stoppage. After having his first meeting with Roger Bowling at UFC Fight Night 27 declared a no-contest due to an illegal knee, it was encouraging to see Trujillo have the confidence to use knees to the body in the manner he did en route to defeating Bowling at UFC on Fox 9.

Trujillo has shown generally stout takedown defense thus far, especially in his encounter against the largely one-dimensional Marcus LeVesseur at UFC on Fox 5. LeVesseur was not able to take down Trujillo consistently, but he also was unable to offer much else in the way of offense. Later, Trujillo was frustrated by the all-around grappling skill of Khabib Nurmagomedov in a decision loss at UFC 160.

Varner is probably somewhere in between, more versatile than LeVesseur but not nearly as suffocating as Nurmagomedov. His blend of skills means he will not be forced to engage exclusively in a firefight with Trujillo, but he will not be out of his element if he chooses to do so. On the other hand, Trujillo showed that he does not necessarily respond well to being planted on his back.

The Pick: There will be some fun exchanges, but Varner relies on his wrestling to capture a decision.

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