Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Pettis vs. Moreno’

Bantamweights

Alejandro Perez (17-6-1) vs. Andre Soukhamthath (11-4)

THE MATCHUP: This would be a battle of guys who lost close fights to Albert Morales, except that Perez’s close loss was a majority draw. Morales shocked him with aggression and power early on, and Perez spent the rest of the fight catching up. In comparison, Soukhamthath definitely lost his fight with Morales, though not without putting his own stamp on the fight with a juggernaut’s salvo of body shots in the final frame.

For the most part, this looks like a showdown of strikers. Both men will shoot for the occasional takedown, and Perez sometimes has the gumption to get it. If anyone has an advantage on the ground, it should be Perez, with his relentless ground-and-pound and meat-and-potatoes submission game. Nonetheless, both men are used to striking their ways to victory.

Interestingly, the striking styles of both Perez and Soukhamthath are designed to thwart wrestlers. Perez employs more of a Michael Bisping approach, with lots of lateral movement, high kick output and solid counterpunching. While circling the ring, Perez throws 10.6 significant strikes per minute. Soukhamthath, on the other hand, is more of a Jose Aldo, who limits his output in order to focus on counterpunching and takedown defense. He lets slip 7.87 significant strikes per minute. While both men are best on the counter, it is Perez who tends to pile up a lead with his low kicking. Soukhamthath can pressure, but it was Morales’ volume and aggression that threw off Perez and Soukhamthath is rarely loathe to let go more than one or two punches at a time. He prefers precision and power over volume, very much like a 135-pound Jimi Manuwa.

THE ODDS: Perez (-125), Soukhamthath (-105)

THE PICK: Often, strikers who specialize in beating wrestlers experience a rude awakening against other strikers. They can spend so much of their time honing their mat skills that they overlook the threat of the standup specialist. Perez and Soukhamthath both had trouble with Morales, a capable kickboxer with cracking power in his hands, because he focused entirely on striking with them. Thus, this fight is an opportunity for both men to show off what they have learned. Based only on what we already know about them -- that Soukhamthath is unlikely to give Perez enough pressure or volume to shut him down at range -- “Diablito” seems like the smarter pick. Perez wins by unanimous decision.

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