Light Heavyweights
Adam Milstead (8-2) vs. Mike Rodriguez (9-3): It is hard to tell what to make of Milstead, particularly at 205 pounds. Ostensibly a wrestler, Milstead had a fun brawl against Chris de la Rocha, but his last two fights have seen him get taken down at will. After Curtis Blaydes ragdolled Milstead and tore up his knee, there was some logic to moving down to light heavyweight, but as Jordan Johnson showed, Milstead still has trouble with strong wrestlers, even at a lighter weight class. Thankfully for him, Rodriguez should not test him in those areas. The Massachusetts native is almost purely a striker and had his own issues with defensive wrestling in his debut against Devin Clark. The smart money is probably on Milstead; this is finally a fight where he can have the wrestling advantage, but he also has yet to look for a takedown in his UFC career. With Milstead pursuing a striking match, the pick is Rodriguez via first-round knockout. ODDS: Milstead (-220), Rodriguez (+180)Middleweights
Trevor Smith (15-8) vs. Zak Cummings (21-6): It is strange to say someone was bothered by the speed of converted lightweight Michel Prazeres, but apparently Cummings’ narrow loss to the Brazilian was enough to convince him to move up to middleweight. Cummings still will not be particularly fast at 185 pounds, but he figures to have his strength. Plus, he remains one of the more underrated fighters on the UFC roster, supplementing an unorthodox but extremely effective grappling game with some solid power on the feet. He next takes on Smith, who is a pure grinder. Every once in a blue moon, Smith can get forced into a strangely entertaining brawl, given that he moves like an iceberg, but most of his fights see him attempt to hang onto his opponent and not let go. That probably will not get him anywhere here, and Cummings’ submission game is crafty enough that the Missouri native should be able to hit something weird. The pick is Cummings via first-round submission. ODDS: Cummings (-280), Smith (+240)Heavyweights
Chris de la Rocha (5-2) vs. Juan Adams (4-0): Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series alums tend to get pushed out of the gate, so it is weird to see Texas’ Adams so low on the card. He is still ridiculously raw, but he is an immense talent -- figuratively and literally -- at heavyweight with a ton of charisma to boot. A former standout wrestler at the Virginia Military Institute, Adams moves extremely well and hits really hard, so as long as the UFC handles him appropriately, he has everything it takes to become a contender and a star. He gets the right kind of test in his first fight against de la Rocha, who is firmly in the bottom tier of UFC heavyweights. De la Rocha is a tough grinder with some wrestling skill, but Adams has all of the athletic advantages to blow him completely out of the water. There is a chance de la Rocha can survive for three rounds, which would help answer a lot of questions about exactly where Adams stands, but the pick is Adams via first-round stoppage. ODDS: Adams (-370), De La Rocha (+310)Related Articles
