Preview: UFC on ESPN 52 Prelims

Welterweights

Wellington Turman (18-7, 3-5 UFC) vs. Jared Gooden (22-9, 1-4 UFC)

ODDS: Turman (-198), Gooden (+164)

Two welterweights look to stay above water in this pairing. Gooden is still young enough to make a few more improvements, but at this point, “Nite Train” looks stuck between being too good for the regional scene and unable to find consistent wins in major promotions. Gooden’s style is fairly simple, as he is an upright boxer who looks to close distance and trade with his opponents. While his physical gifts are enough to overwhelm a lot of competition—Gooden is tall for the division and much more durable than one would expect—UFC-level opponents have usually found a way to outmaneuver him without much effort. That dynamic has clearly played out in the last few years. After sliding out of the UFC in 2021, Gooden went back to his winning ways before getting the late-notice call for a return in March, at which point he found himself outwrestled by Carlston Harris. Gooden looks for the first win in his second UFC stint against Brazil’s Turman, who has also struggled to turn potential into consistently positive results. Turman was surprisingly experienced for a 22-year-old when the UFC picked him up in 2019, but he hit a clear wall early on in his UFC career. Turman could find his comfort zone in turning fights into a grind but all too often instead found himself stuck as an uncomfortable striker prone to getting overwhelmed. “The Prodigy” eventually gained enough experience and striking to get over those issues, but he still has not been able to get his last two fights over the hump to victory. Even with his improvements, Turman’s style has congealed into something still dependent on control rather than capable of pouring on any sort of consistent offense. Turman could—and might even be likely to—succeed in making this a slow-paced grind with a lot of clinch work, but the lean is that what little effective offense there is in this fight comes from Gooden, even if the American finds himself frustrated for the better part of 15 minutes. The pick is Gooden via decision.

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