Preview: UFC on ESPN 34 Prelims

Bantamweights

NR | Heili Alateng (14-8-2, 2-1-1 UFC) vs. NR | Kevin Croom (21-14, 0-2 UFC)

BETUS ODDS: Alateng (-180), Croom (+150)

One of the few silver linings of the pandemic era of the UFC was a bunch of veterans getting a big opportunity simply by being available, and Croom was one of the more memorable fighters to take advantage of that opening. An 11-year journeyman heading into his late-notice appearance against Roosevelt Roberts in 2020, “Crash” scored a memorable upset in just 31 seconds, immediately clipping the highly regarded prospect and then clamping down on a fight-ending guillotine choke. Croom has struggled to build on that momentum, however. With Croom’s game mostly built on messy aggression, Alex Caceres and Brian Kelleher were each tough veteran matchups in which he was not able to get much done. In this fight, Croom has decided to make a surprising cut down to bantamweight, which should be an interesting gambit given how large he figures to be for the division. Perhaps that pays off for him against Alateng. “The Mongolian Knight” has been a worthy entrant in the bantamweight division thus far, though his momentum has cooled after winning his first two UFC bouts. Alateng is a decent athlete that delivers consistent power when he throws, but recent fights against Casey Kenney and Gustavo Lopez have shown that he sometimes struggles to pull the trigger when he is not given a clear opening. Croom does figure to give him some opportunities to land as the American attempts to pressure, though that may not entirely work in his favor. In the latter stretches of his draw against Lopez, Alateng did struggle a bit when his counterpart entirely sold out with aggression—something Croom may also look to do. Still, the bet is that Alateng can land enough powerful offense and show enough defensive wrestling to earn a grimy win. Plus, he can maintain his cardio better over the course of 15 minutes. Far from a sure thing, the pick is Alateng via decision.

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