Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Hunt vs. Miocic’

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LIGHTWEIGHTS

Jake Matthews (8-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. James Vick (7-0, 3-0 UFC)

THE MATCHUP: Two rising lightweights meet in an excellent scrap. At 20 years of age, “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” competitor Matthews is one of the youngest fighters in the promotion, and he is a real talent to watch moving forward after dominating in his first two UFC appearances. Team Lloyd Irvin product Vick, an “Ultimate Fighter” veteran himself, has taken decisions from Nick Hein and Valmir Lazaro in his last two appearances and has generally outperformed expectations.

Matthews, a native of Australia, is a physical specimen with great size, strength and athleticism. Striking is not his strongest suit, but he throws real power in his punching combinations and has a neat low-kicking game that features excellent angles. Like a great many young fighters, however, he is too hittable and has yet to develop much in the way of head movement or other effective defense. In the clinch and wrestling phases, Matthews is a monster. He is brutally strong, can grind away with knees, elbows and short punches and hits beautiful trips and throws. He has a nice arsenal of singles and doubles and a slick knee tap, as well. On the mat, Matthews is venomous, with an aggressive passing game and absolutely vicious striking from the top. He also excels at finding submissions, both in transition and extended grappling sequences. In sum, Matthews is a real talent to watch and has consistently gotten better from fight to fight.

The rangy 6-foot-3 Vick is a pure out-fighter. He circles and cuts angles at range, working behind a long jab, front kick and consistent high kick to keep his opponent at distance. His best punch is his crisp straight right, which he excels at throwing as he turns and pivots beyond his opponent’s reach. Vick’s right uppercut and counter knee are excellent tools for dissuading opponents from rushing into the pocket or changing levels. Vick offers nothing as an offensive wrestler and struggles to stuff takedowns, but he excels at finding guillotines and other submissions in transition; and, to some extent, his solid sweep game makes up for the lack of defensive wrestling. Striking defense is likewise a problem, mostly because he fights at such a quick pace. It is inevitable that he will eat several flush shots over the course of the fight.

BETTING ODDS: Matthews (-155), Vick (+135)

THE PICK: There are good arguments to be made for both fighters. Matthews is hittable and his striking arsenal, while effective, is fairly unsophisticated. Conversely, the American’s takedown defense is highly suspect, and Matthews is a strong, diverse and skilled wrestler and top-control bomber. While it would not surprise me if Vick repeatedly popped Matthews with his rangy strikes and took a decision on output, I think the Australian repeatedly working takedowns and controlling the grappling is more likely. The pick is Matthews by tight decision.

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