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Lightweights
NR | Mason Jones (10-1, 0-1 UFC) vs. NR | Alan Patrick (15-3, 5-3 UFC)ODDS: Jones (-300), Patrick (+250)
Jones figured to be an entertaining addition to the UFC’s lightweight ranks, and he has already proven that true in spades. Wales’ Jones came to the Octagon as a two-division titleholder in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, but there was some question about how he would fare against stronger competition. Despite his success, most of Jones’ victories came on the back of durability, aggression and sheer force of will rather than any sort of technical advantages. The good news? Jones appears to be unbreakable, at least based on his UFC debut against Mike Davis in January, which saw him absorb and constantly march through all manner of offense in one of the best fights of 2021. The bad news? Davis still clearly walked away with a win. Jones looks for his first UFC victory against Brazil’s Patrick, who looks to snap a two-fight skid.
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Patrick’s career has not had much momentum in recent years, between his results and some long layoffs. This will mark only the fourth fight for “Nuguette” since 2016. Patrick has an approach that essentially has two phases: He either looks to keep at range from his opponents on the feet, or he tries to implement a control-heavy wrestling game. Jones is too aggressive for Patrick to get away with his preferred striking style, so this essentially comes down to whether or not the Welshman has the wrestling and grappling defense to keep this fight on the feet. He might not, but Patrick’s recent fights have seen a clear level of diminishing returns. It says a lot that he could not find much wrestling success against Scott Holtzman in 2018, so it is difficult not to have more faith in Jones to get things done. The pick is Jones via decision.
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