Preview: UFC Fight Night 150 ‘Jacare vs. Hermansson’

Lightweights

Roosevelt Roberts (7-0, -335) vs. Thomas Gifford (14-7, +255): UFC President Dana White was recently asked who he saw as the promotion’s next potential stars, and among a few of the usual names, the chief executive also mentioned Roberts, which was a bit surprising. Not that Roberts is not a talented prospect, but he does not particularly pop among the cadre of talented fighters the promotion has signed through Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Roberts has a long and reedy frame that would suggest he is a striker, but instead, “GoGetta” is somewhat herky-jerky on the feet and most comfortable trying to grind out a win. Roberts’ victory over Garrett Gross to secure his UFC contract was a clinch-fest that saw Roberts eventually take over. In his UFC debut proper, Roberts put away Darrell Horcher with a gnarly standing guillotine. There is still work to be done, but at the very least, Roberts has the favor of the UFC, getting a main card assignment here against a debuting opponent in Gifford.

The UFC has signed a bunch of fighters off the Midwestern scene in recent months, and Arkansas native Gifford is the latest. For being an eight-year veteran who got here more via quantity than quality of wins, Gifford is a bit better than expected. He has a long frame and strikes decently well, but the best part of his game appears to be some slick submissions. Despite a decently long career, Gifford is still just 26, so even if there are some growing pains early on, he has enough youth that he may actually learn and start to grow.

This is not quite the “gimme” fight we have come to expect from a top-prospect-versus-anonymous-newcomer pairing, but this still seems set for a Roberts win. This basically pits strength against strength, and while Roberts’ submission artistry is not amazingly proven, it is still more of a known quantity than Gifford’s. There are some areas of intrigue, because Gifford is going to match Roberts’ length and reach more than his other opponents, but this should get into the clinch or onto the mat in short order. From there, Roberts should take this. The pick is Roberts via first-round submission.

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