Light Heavyweights
Darko Stosic (13-2) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (6-1)Advertisement
Nzechukwu is a promising prospect, but it may take a while for him to reach his potential. “The African Savage” has a ton of physical gifts, as he is 6-foot-5 with an extremely long frame and some natural power. However, the Nigerian-born Texan made his pro debut in late 2016, so there is still plenty of growing for Nzechukwu to do. All of his strengths and weaknesses were clearly on display in his UFC debut against Paul Craig in March, which turned from a clear Nzechukwu win to a submission loss in the last minute of the bout. Even beyond the unique issues that Craig brings due to his tricky grappling game, Nzechukwu struggled to leverage all of his advantages on the feet. While he can often keep a solid distance from his opponent, Nzechukwu just does not yet appear to have a second gear that allows him to take over and finish a fight -- something that hurt him once Craig was able to stick around and stage a comeback. In the long term, Nzechukwu is an impressive lump of clay from which to start and should develop a killer instinct and some more technical depth. Hopefully, he gets the right matchmaking to stay and progress on the UFC roster. A win over Stosic would be helpful towards that end.
Stosic has some interesting qualities of his own, namely his knockout power and physical strength, but it is still hard to see how that coalesces into a successful product at the UFC level. The Serbian came up the prospect ranks as a heavyweight, and despite fighting a weak slate of competition, he looked to be a solid talent capable of causing some damage. However, he cut down to 205 pounds for his run in the Octagon, and that may have been a mistake. While it gives him those physical advantages, it has also turned him into an absolute plodder, forcing Stosic to rely on his opponent to get in range in order for him to take over the fight. Jeremy Kimball did so, and Devin Clark had his own moments of poor judgment. With Stosic unable to even get a win over Clark, he badly needs a victory here to prove that a move back up to heavyweight is not the correct way to go.
Hopefully, Nzechukwu already got his prospect loss out of the way, as this is his fight to lose. Nzechukwu has all the physical advantages in terms of ability to dictate a range, so as long as he stays patient and picks apart Stosic, the Serbian should not be explosive enough to close range and cause much of a problem. In this case, it almost works to Nzechukwu’s advantage that he has a natural tendency to stay passive and not rush in for a finish. Nzechukwu’s fight IQ is still hard to measure, so there is still a chance he unknowingly walks directly into danger. However, the likeliest scenario is that Nzechukwu keeps things at a low simmer and coasts his way to a decision win.
Last Fights » ESPN Prelims
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