D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
The Breakdown: The other main card bout featuring a winner from “The Ultimate Fighter” has an altogether different flavor, with Sadollah still trying to find his footing in the Octagon. Meanwhile, Blackburn has put together a 3-0 run that has him knocking on the door of contention. Beating Blackburn would go a long way towards erasing the memory of Sadollah’s knockout loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 101, but the style clash again does not fall in his favor.
Blackburn has been criminally underappreciated, as his combination of disciplined boxing, accurate leg kicks and veteran savvy give him all the tools to frustrate Sadollah, a man at his best when he can control opponents in close quarters. Movement and a steady jab with power behind it are public enemies number one and two for Sadollah, and Blackburn has both in excess.
While Sadollah has shown enough talent on the mat to have a suitable Plan B, he lacks the takedowns to get Blackburn horizontal, and his jiu-jitsu remains in its nascent stages. Even if Sadollah can lock down the Thai clinch on the International Fight League veteran, Phil Baroni had some early success sneaking in punches and swimming free, something Blackburn will be more than capable of replicating. Either way, if Sadollah tries to fight from up close, he still has to worry about whether his chin can hold up as long as Blackburn’s.
The X-Factor: Work rate and conditioning are Sadollah’s best assets, as he proved in his bout with Baroni. If his chin can handle Blackburn’s power, they will be his saving graces. Relying on one’s chin against a talented puncher has always been a bad bet, but as long as Sadollah hangs in there and wears down Blackburn enough to take the edge off his game, he has a real shot at scoring what should be seen as an upset.
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The Bottom Line: This should be another fun fight. Blackburn will undoubtedly look to drop some “Mortal Kombat”-style combinations, while Sadollah answers with his arsenal of muay Thai techniques. The difference maker will be Blackburn’s power, a factor Sadollah cannot match or overcome with sheer volume. A certifiably insane fight ends with Sadollah looking like a crash test dummy after Blackburn puts out his lights with a right hand in the third round.