UFC Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson
Odds: (-260 Sadollah /+200 Johnson )
Betting Pick: SADOLLAH
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In what has the makings of a very competitive and entertaining Welterweight bout, tough veteran DaMarques Johnson will square off with Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah. Both of these guys have versatile skill sets and also exploitable holes in their games, so this one very well could be a barn-burner.
Amir Sadollah, who had never fought as a professional before appearing on The Ultimate Fighter, shocked everyone by submitting heavy favorite CB Dolloway twice on his way to winning the show. Sadollah has very good submissions, and his Muay Thai seems to improve every time he fights. His problem is that he is hugely unimpressive physically, his wrestling is terrible, and he isn’t a very powerful striker. His technique is solid, but he lacks knockout power or even the power to substantially hurt anyone.
DaMarques Johnson has a very dangerous offensive skill set, with good punching, decent wrestling, and effective submissions. He can hurt guys, and finish fights, in a wide variety of ways. Johnson’s problem is that he is nowhere near as good defensively as he is offensively. His submission defense is questionable, he is prone to eating punches, and when he gets outwrestled he does not react well at all. As a result, he has lost a good number of fights in his career.
This is an interesting matchup. Johnson is more physically imposing, and more powerful in the standup, but Sadollah is slicker, more technical, and far better on the ground. I think Sadollah’s Muay Thai and ability to work in the clinch are going to help him stay in the fight on the feet, and when it hits the ground he should be able to capitalize on Johnson’s subpar submission defense. Sadollah by submission.
Prediction: Amir Sadollah via second round rear naked choke.
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