WEC 45 Preview

Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki

The Breakdown: The other primetime lightweight dust-up on the main card pits the best Polish athlete not named Mariusz Pudzianowski against the smoothest Nigerian since Hakeem Olajuwon. Horodecki and Njokuani are both vying to become the next big thing in the WEC’s 155-pound division.

Lightweights do not get much bigger than Njokuani, who stands over six feet tall and wields a stiff jab that takes full advantage of his natural reach advantage. That same jab shut down Bart Palaszewski at WEC 40 and remains the punch that the comparatively diminutive Horodecki has to find his way around to stand a chance of even landing a strike, much less winning the fight. Prone to leading with wide power punches and throwing leg kicks with no setup, Horodecki seems especially vulnerable to the jab, and his short reach will make countering Njokuani’s best punch even more difficult.

While a reach disadvantage hardly turns into an automatic death knell in MMA, Horodecki routinely responds to getting hit by losing discipline and getting into wild exchanges -- not the best idea against an opponent who stays remarkably composed on the feet and uses a tight defensive stance to effectively deflect anything that slips past his jab. Unless Horodecki shows up looking like Super Mariusz, he will find himself physically and tactically overmatched against an opponent who can make him pay for even thinking about throwing a strike.

The X-Factor: Neither fighter will show up at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship anytime soon, but Njokuani does have underrated ground-and-pound reminiscent of the nasty mat striking that has become Cheick Kongo’s calling card. That may become a key stylistic advantage since Horodecki’s guard has proven about as useful as opinions on the economic crisis.

While Njokuani does not figure to shoot a double-leg in this lifetime, if he drops Horodecki he will have the tools to finish him quickly. The same cannot be said for Horodecki, who often relies on overwhelming opponents with the volume of his strikes rather than the power behind them.

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The Bottom Line: Being tough and throwing lots of strikes just does not cut it anymore, and that lesson will be written across Horodecki’s face. A protracted beating comes to a merciful end, as Njokuani hits a switch-stance combination that sends Horodecki to the mat to wait for the referee’s compassion switch to flip.