WEC 47 Preview

Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan

The Breakdown: Fresh off a universally unexpected decision over Rob McCullough at WEC 44, Karen Darabedyan looks to continue his march to a lightweight title shot against Bart Palaszewski. A trap fight if there ever was one, as Palaszewski just derailed another top-tier prospect in Anthony Pettis and is undoubtedly looking for an encore at Darabedyan’s expense.

Palaszewski struggles, though, against opponents who can outbox him and stuff his takedowns. Darabedyan can do both. He flashed surprisingly polished boxing skills against McCullough, and his judo background gives him slick clinch skills, which is where Palaszewski normally tries to score his takedowns.

Tough as Palaszewski is, he’s not going to win a boxing match with Darabedyan and he won’t hold up anywhere near as well as McCullough did in that scenario. Even if this fight does hit the floor, Darabedyan’s ground game is no joke and Palaszewski isn’t going to score enough takedowns to work a top-control special.

The Bottom Line: The lightweight title will be within reach for Darabedyan after this fight, as he puts together another surprisingly dominant decision win highlighted by his superior boxing technique.