UFC 98 Preview: The Main Card

Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam

The Breakdown: Every fight night needs a strikers special, and we get just that with power-punching dynamo Drew McFedries taking on the slick kickboxing of Xavier Foupa-Pokam. Staying slick will be key for Foupa-Pokam, who can’t stay in the pocket against McFedries -- one of the middleweight divisions premier punchers. As long as Foupa-Pokam moves in and out of the pocket and stays focused on picking his foe apart from afar, he’ll stay clear of McFedries’ blitzes and potentially capitalize on his substandard cardio.

The X Factor: When it comes to grappling, McFedries has all the talent of a striker who’s spent his whole career focusing only on scoring knockouts. While Foupa-Pokam is hardly the shining star of the jiu-jitsu scene, he is competent enough on the mats to tie McFedries into knots. It won’t be easy dragging McFedries to the mat, though, because he’ll be the significantly bigger man come fight time. With that said, McFedries has shown that any time he spends on the mat is typically just a way of him killing the clock before tapout time comes.

The Bottom Line: This won’t be an easy fight for Foupa-Pokam, but all he really has to do is keep McFedries from turning this into a glorified game of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Look for Foupa-Pokam to get on his horse early. He’ll stay out of McFedries’ range before turning the tables and taking over with his versatile kickboxing game. Once that happens, a takedown will be there and Foupa-Pokam will be all too willing to take the opening on the ground and close out McFedries.