Two high-profile matchups are declared for upcoming battle cards, and my initial thoughts on both are below.
Kevin Lee vs. Rafael dos Anjos, UFC Fight Night 151
Kevin Lee is done with lightweight as he’ll move up to welterweight and take on former UFC lightweight winner Rafael dos Anjos at the primary event of UFC Fight Night 151. The event is set for May 18 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.
Lee (17-4) is 10-4 at the UFC with all of his previous bouts taking place in lightweight. After dropping a choice to Al Iaquinta in his final bout, Lee hinted he could be moving up a weight class as at age 26 he has grown out of his lightweight frame. Although he won’t have the size advantage he’d down in 155lbs, with his caliber wrestling skills and improved striking Lee should still be a solid competitor at 170lbs, an the UFC is throwing him into the fire in his divisional debut against a former title challenger in dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos (28-11) is 17-9 at the UFC and has turned out to be both a elite lightweight and welterweight. However, at age 34, he is finally showing signs of a decline with consecutive decision losses to Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Losing to these fighters on paper is not a huge deal, but the Usman struggle was a blowout and it is possible all of the harm has really taken it’s toll on him today. Still, I’d give RDA a fantastic chance to beat Lee in this fight. With Lee’s popularity and youth benefit I expect him to be put as a decently-sized favored, making RDA an intriguing dog play if that’s indeed the case.
Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Blachowicz, UFC 239
The first bout added to UFC 239 is a great man, as former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will proceed up to light heavyweight to shoot on Jan Blachowicz. The card occurs July 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke news of this bout.
Rockhold (16-4) is 6-3 overall in the UFC, with all his past spells coming in middleweight. He has not competed since a KO loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 221 at February 2018, and his final success was a TKO win over David Branch in September 2017. Despite the long layoff, Rockhold is still an extremely interesting addition to the UFC light heavyweight division. It was not that long ago when Rockhold was the best middleweight in the world when he won five straight fights by finish in the UFC over Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Costa Philippou and Tim Boetsch. His shocking KO loss to Bisping in the group rematch at June 2016 will go down among the sport’s greatest all-time upsets and Rockhold has really struggled since then. However, the thought procedure is that his chin should be sturdier moving up a weight class, though that remains to be seen.
Blachowicz (23-8) is 6-5 in the UFC and and was recently knocked out by Thiago Santos at an expected light heavyweight title eliminator. Prior to that, Blachowicz had won four straight struggles by stoppage and was looking like a title contender. The loss to Santos reveals his true place in the division, as a high-end gatekeeper who isn’t quite prepared to battle for the belt. That is why this is fantastic matchmaking by the UFC. Blachowicz is highly rated yet beatable, so there’s a fantastic chance Rockhold beats him takes his spot in the top-five, making him an immediate contender for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones if this occurs. Look for Rockhold to be a solid favorite heading into this particular bout.
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