Che Mills will be in over his head tonight at UFC 145.
As good of a striker as Mills may be, he is at a disadvantage when he steps into the Octagon against Rory MacDonald, one of the greatest prospects in the sport.
MacDonald is an excellent striker with great takedowns and a phenomenal ground game. Better put, the guy is a well-rounded mixed martial artist with no holes in his game.
After all, this is the same guy who pushed Carlos Condit, the current UFC Interim Welterweight Champion, to the limit and nearly edged out a decision before losing by TKO in a controversial referee stoppage.
Since then, MacDonald has won two fights in impressive fashion against Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle, which brings him to this next bout against a talented striker.
Mills’ striking is excellent, but with that being the only thing he’s bringing to the table—plus the fact that this is his second fight in the UFC—his chances of winning this fight are slim to none.
In his first UFC fight back in November 2011, Mills scored a TKO against Chris Cope with a perfectly placed knee, followed by some vicious punches. It was impressive, to say the least, but MacDonald is a completely different animal than Cope.
MacDonald, who has an MMA record of 12-1, is like a miniature Georges St-Pierre, while Mills (14-4) should be compared to a Dan Hardy type since he is one-dimensional. Though MacDonald has better wrestling and submission skills than Mills, I expect him to trade strikes with Mills on the feet until he proves to everyone that he can beat Mills at that, too.
Once he showcases his striking, MacDonald will most likely take this fight to the ground and finish this fight with a submission. Mills’ ways of winning this fight are limited, and a victory over one of the more impressive young talents in the UFC is highly unlikely.
MacDonald will stop Mills in the first round tonight via triangle choke.
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