Preview: UFC on ESPN 31 ‘Font vs. Aldo’

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Welterweights

NR | Bryan Barberena (15-8, 6-6 UFC) vs. NR | Darian Weeks (5-0, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Barberena (-125), Weeks (+105)

Barberena was surprisingly one of the breakout fighters of 2016. An underrated lightweight through his first two UFC bouts, “Bam Bam” moved up to welterweight and gained a reputation as a prospect-killer, derailing the hype trains of Sage Northcutt and Warlley Alves in his first two UFC assignments at 170 pounds. A loss to Colby Covington stopped that momentum, but Barberena has spent the ensuing few years as one of the most reliably exciting fighters on the roster thanks to his rugged and straight-ahead style. Barberena has made some obvious improvements to round out his game at a technical level, but the worry is that his body might be betraying him at this point. Barberena’s last two fights have seen him come back from a career-threatening injury, and his most recent outing saw Jason Witt score an upset win with his own grinding approach. Barberena looks to rebound here against a UFC newcomer in Weeks, who steps in on just a few days’ notice.

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Weeks was initially slated to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series in September but COVID-19 protocols intervened, and he does look to be a talented prospect with some knockout power. However, he is still quite raw, and despite his coming from a wrestling background, opponents have had little issue dictating the terms of their fights with Weeks, even if he has been able to escape danger and eventually find a finish of his own. This pandemic era of the UFC has been marked by dangerous late-notice newcomers catching their opponents off-guard, but Barberena should still be durable enough to absorb damage and overwhelm Weeks over the course of three rounds. The pick is Barberena via decision.

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