Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2’

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WELTERWEIGHTS

Pawel Pawlak (10-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. Sheldon Westcott (8-2-1, 0-1 UFC)

THE MATCHUP: “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” runner-up Westcott drops to 170 pounds following his defeat at the hands of rising star Elias Theodorou and draws local fighter Pawlak. The Pole debuted in the UFC in May, dropping a decision to a resurgent Peter Sobotta.

Pawlak is well-rounded but lacks a particularly outstanding skill set and does not connect the different facets of his game particularly well. He is a decent striker with solid fundamentals, with a crisp jab and hard counter left hook, but he has a tendency to potshot from the outside with single punches and kicks rather than throwing combinations. Wrestling is not his strongest suit: He struggles to defend takedowns, and his own attempts to get to the mat lack much in the way of technique or clean finishes. On the mat, however, Pawlak is excellent. His guard is active if not terribly dangerous, and from top position, he passes quickly, throws hard shots and can hit some submissions.

Westcott is powerful, reasonably athletic and will be absolutely enormous at welterweight. His game is based around his unrelenting and pathological aggression. He throws hard punches as he moves forward either into the clinch or a takedown attempt, and once he gets in on the hips, big slams and authoritative finishes are the order of the day. He scrambles nicely and has a knack for finding the back or another dominant position in transitions, but he is not much of a patient control grappler.

THE PICK: This is a tough fight to call given both fighters’ limited experience at the highest levels. Westcott will have a substantial advantage in size, physicality, athleticism and takedowns, while Pawlak is the more technical striker and grappler. If the Pole can survive the initial flurry of activity, this should be his fight to lose, but I think Westcott will overwhelm him. The pick is Westcott by knockout in the first round.

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