UFC Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Noguera
Odds: (-250 Schaub /+195 Nogueira )
Betting Pick: Schaub
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In a featured Heavyweight bout, living legend Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will square off against rising star Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub. Nogueira is a legend in the sport who has fought most of the best Heavyweights in the world, but years of brutal battles seem to have finally taken their toll on him physically. Schaub, for his part, is a ridiculous physical specimen, but lacks Nogueira’s experience. If Schaub wins, this very well might be the last time Nogueira ever fights in UFC, so if he wants to keep hold of his career, Nogueira is going to need to find a way to force this fight to the ground and work for submissions.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is easily one of the most legendary Heavyweights in the sport’s history. At his prime, Nogueira was renowned for his ability to weather storms before finding an opening and securing a submission. Now, though, it seems that all those brutal wars and all the years as a professional fighter have caught up with him. His submission skills are just as dangerous as they ever were, but he was never a prolific wrestler and his chin seems to have deteriorated. His boxing is fairly technically solid, but he has basically zero knockout power. More importantly, he has degenerating defense and can’t force fights to the ground. Against Schaub he might even need to resort to pulling guard just to avoid standing in front of power punches.
Brendan Schaub is one of the rising stars of the Heavyweight division. A massive, powerful Heavyweight with a huge surplus of punching power and solid wrestling, Schaub has all the tools to make it all the way to the top. The only question mark about Schaub is his chin, which was exploited by Roy Nelson in spectacular fashion, but against Nogueira he won’t have to worry about getting knocked out. Schaub’s strategy will be simple. He will try to deny Nogueira takedowns and overwhelm him with punches.
This is a horrible matchup for Nogueira. Schaub is not only significantly larger and stronger, he is a good enough wrestler to keep Nogueira from taking him down. On the feet, Nogueira has nothing for Schaub, and eventually Schaub will start connecting with power punches. Nogueira will only be able to take so many before he inevitably succumbs. Schaub by T/KO.
Prediction: Brendan Schaub via second round T/KO.
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