Heavyweights
Walt Harris (11-7) vs. Sergey Spivak (9-0)Advertisement
Harris is probably past the point of being considered a heavyweight prospect. A former college basketball player, Harris had some tantalizing athleticism coming up the ranks but flamed out in his first UFC stint and did not show much when the promotion re-signed him as a late injury replacement against Soa Palelei. After taking off all of 2015, Harris returned with an upset stoppage of top prospect Cody East and has been reliably competent ever since. Harris has definitely proven himself to be above the dregs of the division -- he has beaten opponents like Chase Sherman and Daniel Spitz in one-sided fashion, but against more defensively reliable opposition, Harris has been all too willing to take turns and have back-and-forth fights go to split decisions. Still, “The Big Ticket” has won more than he has lost, so he was originally slated for a big chance here against Alexey Oleynik. The board has been reshuffled since, and apparently the UFC felt it necessary that Harris face another Ukrainian, as he takes on an Octagon newcomer in Spivak.
Spivak is already solid for being a 24-year-old heavyweight, which is a pleasant surprise. A lot of these younger heavyweights have big records built on crushing cans, but Spivak’s ledger is just the opposite, as “The Polar Bear” holds wins over two legendary journeymen of the sport: Travis Fulton and Tony Lopez. It has also been nice to see Spivak work himself into shape from fight to fight, even if things don't change much from an overall skill standpoint. He is a competent boxer who hunts for the finish once he gets into close quarters and also wields an an effective if not particularly deep submission game. Given the late notice nature of things, the UFC easily could have done worse.
The good news is that Spivak is surprisingly competent for a heavyweight newcomer, but unfortunately that means Harris will be in split-decision form rather than being able to run over the Ukrainian. Just expect a lot of trading exchanges with neither man making enough of an impact to take over the fight. Spivak should remain competitive and could even take this, but Harris has the size, athleticism and experience to where he has to be favored. The pick is Harris via decision.
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