UFC 119 Preview: The Prelims

Thiago Tavares vs. Pat Audinwood

Having a nickname like “Awesomely Awesome” sets a high bar for awesomeness, and Audinwood is not getting the right opponent to convince the masses. Tavares may avoid his own talents with stunning regularity, but he can beat most any mid-range lightweight even on an off night.

Audinwood’s wrestling is well below par, and being deficient in any area is a virtual guarantee of struggles in the UFC. Audinwood‘s best skill is his grappling, and Tavares is vastly more proven in that arena.

Every single time Tavares has been able to consistently outwrestle his opponent and work his Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he wins. Grappling is what Audinwood has to do to win at this level, and he’s not winning a grappling match with Tavares. While Tavares can be beaten on the feet, striking skill is a wash between these two and, even if it wasn’t, Audinwood still isn’t going to stop enough takedowns to keep this fight standing.

Against some of the less proven lightweights in the UFC, I’d be inclined to give Audinwood a real chance to be impressive, but Tavares is better than him at everything he likes to do.