Preview: UFC on ESPN 21 ‘Brunson vs. Holland’

Lightweight

#15 | Gregor Gillespie (13-1, 6-1 UFC) vs. NR | Brad Riddell (9-1, 3-0 UFC)

ODDS: Gillespie (-245), Riddell (+205)

The situation sure turned against Gillespie in an instant. At this time two years ago, Gillespie was leading the way for the next wave of lightweight contenders. A decorated collegiate wrestler, Gillespie leaned on those chops as part of a relentless pressure style. “The Gift” would leverage his speed and compact frame by swarming his opponents and constantly working for takedowns and submissions. Through his January 2019 fight against Yancy Medeiros, that approach looked fairly unstoppable. Even though Gillespie would take damage or find himself in bad positions, his combination of durability and skill always led to his turning the fight around and overwhelming his foes. While Gillespie figured to hit a wall at some point, it was still fairly shocking to see how quickly things went south against Kevin Lee. For whatever reason—whether it was an attempt at a more technical approach or Gillespie being cautious against the most athletic opponent of his career—he took his time in the early going and paid for it dearly, getting blasted in the first round for one of the scariest knockouts of the year. Gillespie has been completely off the radar in the year and a half since, which has made him a bit of a forgotten man who badly needs a win to regain some momentum. That is particularly true here, as he defends his turf and ranking against a rising prospect in Riddell. New Zealand’s Riddell is the latest City Kickboxing product to transition from kickboxing to mixed martial arts in impressive fashion. The UFC seemed to be rushing “Quake” in 2020, when they put him against Magomed Mustafaev in just his second UFC fight, but Riddell passed that test with flying colors. His last bout—a win over Alex da Silva Coelho—was a bit more of a lateral move. Riddell’s wrestling defense has been surprisingly strong thus far, but da Silva managed to find some early success with takedowns. That makes Gillespie the favorite on paper, but the Lee fight does raise questions about how he will fare. Even if Gillespie’s cautious approach was an adjustment specifically for Lee, there is some worry that getting knocked out so brutally may make him second-guess his aggression going forward. Until proven otherwise, the assumption is that Gillespie will bounce back and recapture his old form. The pick is Gillespie via third-round submission.

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