Featherweights
Shane Young (13-6, 2-3 UFC) vs. Blake Bilder (7-0-1, 0-0 UFC)Young had about the roughest UFC debut possible, stepping in on late notice to take on Alexander Volkanovski in 2017, but he carved out a niche as a fun scrapper with wins over Rolando Dy and Austin Arnett. Unfortunately, it has been a rough time since that 2019 win over Arnett, as Young has since hit a ceiling against higher-level athletes. Ludovit Klein quickly knocked Young out, and the Kiwi could not make much headway in a decision loss to Omar Morales. Young now returns from nearly two years off to take on a UFC newcomer in Bilder, a Dana White’s Contender Series alum who is an interesting addition to the roster. Amusingly, Bilder’s style is essentially the opposite of his last name, as there is not much building in what “El Animal” brings to the table. A powerful athlete, Bilder essentially relies on singular big moments to find his way to a win, usually via finish. As a talented grappler, Bilder is often content to give up time and control on the ground in order to hunt for a submission, and that is part of the general issue with his game. Without those huge moments of dynamism and his ability to immediately end the fight, Bilder does not do much to clearly win rounds. The finishes figure to dry up for Bilder at some point, and it remains unclear if that will be here. Young has done well to keep rounding out his aggressive style with some more wrestling and a smarter approach, but he will still remain vulnerable to Bilder pulling something effective out of thin air. Klein fight aside, Young has been tough to finish, so the UFC veteran gets the mild benefit of the doubt, even if it is not a confident call. The pick is Young via decision.
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