Preview: UFC Fight Night 246 Prelims

Bantamweights

Cody Gibson (20-10, 2-5 UFC) vs. Chad Anheliger (13-7, 2-2 UFC)

ODDS: Gibson (-198), Anheliger (+164)

Alberta’s Anheliger gets a home-province fight here, and his rise to a UFC contract is a fun story. He nearly washed out of the sport after a rough start on the regional scene about a decade ago but went on an extended winning streak that eventually earned him a bit of a reputation as a prospect-killer, knocking off Brady Hiestand and Muin Gafurov on his way to the UFC roster. Anheliger’s striking has a bit of jankiness to it, but he’s well-rounded and comfortable fighting at a pace, which makes it hard for opponents to look good against him. Even his two UFC losses were hard-fought affairs against better athletes, and his combination of cardio and defensive wrestling has allowed him to outlast his opposition otherwise. Gibson makes for an entertaining next matchup, as “The Renegade” has put on some entertaining fights since his UFC return via “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2023.

Gibson washed out of the UFC in 2015 after a short stint—against a level of competition that now looks much tougher than it did then—but he is carving out a niche a decade later. He’s under-athletic but tall and long for the division, and he tries to overwhelm his opponents with constant offense. He can hit an athletic wall—which doesn’t figure to happen in this assignment—but the worrying sign for Gibson is that he does tend to burn himself out with his own pace, setting things up for another fight where Anheliger can get a win over the finish line on the back of his gas tank. This should one should be close. Gibson does a better job of turning his wrestling success into offense than some of Anheliger’s other opponents who have tired themselves out, so he could build up too much of a lead for the Canadian to overcome. Yet the lean is that Anheliger can eke this one out via decision.

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