Women’s Flyweights
Gillian Robertson (6-3, -130) vs. Sarah Frota (9-1, +110): As the UFC women’s flyweight division has gotten off the ground, Robertson has been a pleasant surprise. Coming into the UFC as a raw prospect, Robertson has mostly gotten by on a deceptively vicious submission game while her striking fills out, and it has earned her a victory in three of her four bouts in the Octagon. Her lone loss came against the best athlete she has faced thus far in Mayra Bueno Silva, and that physical ceiling might be the issue for “The Savage” going forward. That makes this an interesting fight against Frota, an absolute powerhouse as a strawweight who moves up to flyweight after missing weight by seven pounds in her UFC debut against Livinha Souza. That presents its own issues for Frota. While she has the Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to fall back on, her success at 115 pounds was almost entirely built on her physical power overcoming her lack of technique. It will be interesting to see how that translates up a weight class, but Robertson makes for a soft landing at 125 pounds from that standpoint; Frota is still the larger fighter and stronger athlete. That should at least be enough to neutralize Robertson’s grappling, and the Canadian is not the type of opponent to take advantage of Frota’s wild striking. The pick is Frota via decision.Welterweights
Kyle Stewart (11-2, -120) vs. Erik Koch (15-6, +100): This is a rare Koch sighting, and the long-awaited welterweight debut for the former featherweight contender. Koch was slated to face Jose Aldo way back in 2012 before that fight fell through multiple times due to injuries. That has been the story of Koch’s UFC career. “New Breed” has only fought seven times since September 2011, and four of those bouts came over one healthy 16-month stretch spanning 2013-14. The big effect of that is that Koch has not evolved much from the kickboxer he was about a decade ago. He can overpower someone willing to meet him on his own terms, but he seemed helpless even against the 2017 version of Clay Guida. After a rough campaign at 155 pounds, Koch moves up another weight class to take on Stewart, who looks to rebound from an unsuccessful debut against Chance Rencountre in January. Stewart is an odd fighter in that he has some weapons, including some knockout power that particularly manifests himself in the top game, but does not look to set much of it up while going along with wherever his opponent wants to take the fight. That should play into Koch’s hands. While it is hard to have any confidence in Koch, if there is a win for him on the roster at 170 pounds, it is probably this one. The pick is Koch via second-round finish.Heavyweights
Tanner Boser (16-5-1, -170) vs. Giacomo Lemos (6-0, +150): Heavyweight newcomers always make for an entertaining time, whether intentionally or not. After fighting most of his recent career in Russia, Alberta’s Boser gets to debut with a home game. Boser’s appearance is quite deceiving. He does not look like much of an athlete, but he is surprisingly light on his feet and looks to make hay by outlasting his opponents with a mobile, low-output striking game. He can be controlled for wide stretches of a fight, however, and a surprising lack of finishing ability will probably give him a clear ceiling in the UFC, even if he should be able to win some fights on the roster. Brazil’s Lemos has the complete opposite approach. He is a bricked-up athlete without much of a gas tank, which can be particularly problematic given his approach of throwing power into absolutely everything he does. That was enough to get by on the South Korean heavyweight scene, but Boser should be able to outlast him and take over for the decision win.Related Articles
