Light Heavyweights
Maxim Grishin (32-9-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. Philipe Lins (15-5, 1-2 UFC)This might be difficult to watch, but at least one of these light heavyweight veterans will get some momentum going. Lins’ UFC career has been a disappointment most of the way. After getting released from Bellator MMA, Lins moved up to heavyweight and won the Professional Fighters League’s 2018 tournament, leading to some hopes that “Monstro” could cause some damage when he showed up in the Octagon over a year later. Against his competition in the PFL, Lins had the extra bit of hand speed to make his slow-paced approach work, but he got basically nothing done in his two UFC bouts at heavyweight. Andrei Arlovski outworked him over three rounds before Tanner Boser put him away via first-round knockout. It was nearly two years until Lins’ return in April, which also marked his cut back down to 205 pounds in what seemed like a questionable move. However, Lins managed to beat Marcin Prachnio in what was easily the best performance of his UFC career. Lins looks to continue his turnaround against Grishin, another fighter who made the PFL-to-UFC jump in 2020. A pro dating back all the way to 2008, Russia’s “Maximus” is a well-rounded fighter who rides the line between defensively sound and overly cautious. Most of his performances center on trying to neutralize the best parts of his opponent’s game and hoping to outlast a one-dimensional opponent. It is essentially a 50-50 proposition as to whether Lins can find an early advantage—he was able to find some success wrestling against Prachnio, but Grishin is a much stouter force—but given how he faded over time in his return to light heavyweight, the M-1 Global alum should be the more consistent force over 15 minutes, if not a particularly dynamic one. The pick is Grishin via decision.
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