Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Edgar vs. Swanson’

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LIGHTWEIGHTS

Bobby Green (23-5, 4-0 UFC) vs. Edson Barboza (14-2, 8-2 UFC)

THE MATCHUP: This is an absolutely outstanding fight. Green, a former Strikeforce fighter, has rattled off four straight wins since moving to the UFC, with the most recent a competitive decision over Josh Thomson in July. Barboza was finished by the streaking Donald Cerrone in April, but got back on track with a crushing win over Evan Dunham three months later.

Green is mostly a striker. Although his style looks a bit unorthodox, his fundamentals are sound, with excellent weight transfer, angles, head movement, rhythm and pace. He prefers to aggressively stalk his opponent with clean, efficient footwork and stance switches while using his crisp low and middle kicks to cut off his opponent’s movement and escape angles. While he is a powerhouse moving forward behind his crisp jab and hard head-body combinations, Green occasionally struggles when pressured by quick opponents as he attempts to step out of range. A decorated wrestler in high school, Green’s takedown defense is generally excellent, and he is almost impossible to hold down even if his opponent can drag him to the mat. He possesses solid takedowns of his own, mostly in the form of singles and doubles and owns a strong clinch game to boot. On the ground, Green makes excellent use of top rides to land ground strikes and can transition quickly to the back.

Barboza is a talented offensive fighter with substantial defensive liabilities. He prefers to work at striking range and has awesome weapons at both punching and kicking distance, with some of the hardest low kicks in MMA history and vicious multi-punch combinations that he can throw both moving forward and as counters. He works both body and head in sequence with punches but could stand to use those hand techniques to better set up his potent kicks. When Barboza gets hit, however, as tends to happen due to his lack of head movement and his tendency to stop and admire his work, he really gets hit hard. He has been dropped numerous times, and this led directly to both of his career losses. It is almost impossible to hold Barboza on the ground, as his takedown defense and ability to pop back to his feet are outstanding. Although he rarely uses it, he owns a decent top game and a fleeting knowledge of submissions.

BETTING ODDS: Barboza (-135), Green (+115)

THE PICK: This is an outstanding fight between two fighters in their primes. Barboza is faster and hits harder on a shot-for-shot basis, but Green throws more volume, is more defensively sound and owns a substantial advantage in wrestling and the clinch. Green is also very good at checking low kicks, which is essential against someone who throws shins like Barboza. I favor the American ever so slightly and think that he can edge out an exciting decision.

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