Welterweights
James Krause (27-8) vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva (14-1)It is nice to see Henrique da Silva back in action, given that a 14-month layoff represents a relatively quick turnaround for him. The Brazilian made his UFC debut all the way back in 2014 with a win over Bradley Scott, and after one more victory over a future title contender in Leon Edwards, “Hannibal” promptly vanished thanks to a cascade of injuries that kept him out of action for three and a half years. However, Henrique da Silva has been as effective as ever since he returned from that absence, as his relentless style has continued to pay dividends. Henrique da Silva simply keeps charging forward with takedown attempts and wild strikes in an attempt to overwhelm his opponents, and he has managed to find a submission in each of his last three bouts. There is probably a limit to Henrique da Silva’s approach thanks to his lack of defense and the fact that he is already 38 years old, and Krause figures to be a solid benchmark for exactly where that ceiling sits. After a middling start to his UFC career, Krause has put together a shockingly great run that has gone under the radar, mostly thanks to his own inactivity. However, unlike Henrique da Silva, Krause’s inactivity has been of his own volition, as he continues to make a name for himself as a head coach at Glory MMA. A 2018 win over Alex White brought Krause to four straight victories at lightweight in what were mostly unmemorable performances, but the Missourian has been a revelation since moving to 170 pounds, as he has been a much faster and crisper striker with some finishing ability on the feet. A move to middleweight was too much, as Krause stepped in on a day’s notice to face Trevin Giles in February, but it still led to a surprisingly strong performance and should set him up well to face another physical force in Henrique da Silva. The American Top Team rep should have some success implementing his wrestling game, but Krause should also have the chops to make sure that the Brazilian does not accomplish much once this gets to the mat. Add in that Krause figures to be the much more effective fighter on the feet, especially as Henrique da Silva begins to flag in the third round, and this looks set to be the type of narrow decision where it is left to the judges to parse Henrique da Silva’s control versus Krause’s more effective offense. The pick is for Krause to take a decision, albeit in entertaining fashion.
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