The highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut of former KSW star Mateusz Gamrot—he faces Guram Kutateladze, a promising prospect in his own right—buoys another solid slate of prelims at UFC Fight Night 180 on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Beyond that, the undercard offers some guaranteed action. Gillian Robertson makes her second appearance of 2020, Claudio Henrique da Silva gets a long-awaited test and John Phillips always supplies the entertainment.
Lightweights
Mateusz Gamrot (17-0) vs. Guram Kutateladze (11-2)ODDS: Gamrot (-290), Kutateladze (+245)
This is certainly better than most fights between late replacements and UFC newcomers. Poland’s Gamrot has proven himself to be one of the best fighters outside the UFC, to the point that there is not much else to reveal about him. He has won both featherweight and lightweight titles in KSW and showed off skills everywhere while doing so: From striking to wrestling to grappling, the “Gamer” can hold his own in all phases. If there is a worry, it is that Gamrot does not have the one elite obvious skill to fall back on in a particularly deep division, but that is a minor complaint about someone who immediately slots in somewhere around the UFC’s Top 20 lightweights, with the potential to be much more. He is also a tough draw for a Georgian newcomer in Kutateladze, who is also much more proven than most UFC signees, albeit nowhere to Gamrot’s degree. Kutateladze is at his best as a striker who can pick his shots, and his best path to victory here is to stay elusive and hope Gamrot cannot successfully chase him down. Even if Kutateladze can land a hard shot or two, Gamrot has proven to be quite durable, and the Pole should have his wrestling to fall back on here if the situations gets even remotely difficult. This should be a fun scrap, but the pick is Gamrot via clear decision.
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