Welterweights
Ian Garry (9-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Gabriel Green (11-3, 2-1 UFC)Garry’s climb up the ladder is an interesting subplot in the welterweight division, since the Irishman has one of the highest upsides in the sport. It took Garry a shade over two years to prove everything he needed to at the regional level, as “The Future” more or less checked every box through his first seven fights. He is a solid athlete with a large frame for the division and showed an ability to hold his own—and flashed some finishing ability—in every phase of his fights. His two UFC appearances have shown some issues that Garry needs to work on. Jordan Williams’ pressure was enough to clip Garry a few times until the Irishman scored a knockout, and Darian Weeks was able to neutralize him in a grind for large swaths of a Garry decision win. Nevertheless, Garry continues to look better each time out, and he has enough charisma in his post-fight interviews to paper over any drawbacks in his performances. He gets his toughest test yet in Green, an entertaining and underrated welterweight entrant that would have a better reputation with a more active schedule. Green’s approach works better than it should, as he is an undersized welterweight whose striking is often awkward. “Gifted Gabriel” finds his path to victory through sheer attrition, pressuring his opponents and throwing volume while relying on his durability to see him through the fight. There is a decent chance that this is Garry’s prospect loss, as the Williams fight showed that he can border on overconfidence and leave himself open to an opponent willing to stay fearless and sell out on offense. However, he looked much more poised in the Weeks fight, and the fact is that even if Green gets the type of match he wants, the American leaves himself open enough on defense that Garry could just hit him at will in return. Add in that Garry’s wrestling and grappling could find some success against Green’s suspect takedown defense, and the top prospect gets the nod. The pick is Garry via tough decision.
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Turner vs. Riddell
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Hall vs. Muniz
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Clark vs. Stoliarenko