Heavyweights
Mauro Cerilli (14-5, 2-3 ONE) vs. Paul Elliott (4-1, 0-1 ONE)It is something of a surprise to see Cerilli fighting again, as his loss to Amir Aliakbari in 2022 was viewed by many as a last hurrah. In that match, the Italian displayed less than a round of cardio, as he was horribly gassed in a few minutes. Beyond that, Cerilli was painfully slow on top of being a one-dimensional brawler with huge defensive holes. However, the heavyweight is back at the age of 40, and perhaps a match with Elliott is still perfectly winnable. Elliott, whose physique resembles more of a bodybuilder than a fighter, was knocked out in 58 seconds by the undersized Ji Won Kang in March 2022 and saw a knockout loss to Martin Batur changed to a no contest after the Croatian failed a drug test. With that said, it should be mentioned that Elliott dropped and nearly knocked Batur out with a wild overhand left before everything went awry. Elliott also likes to throw wild spinning kicks that look fancy but miss by a mile, and he has an unfortunate habit of leaping forward right into his opponents’ fists. He also leaves huge gaps through which to get countered, throwing heavy, technical but often inaccurate hooks, which resulted in his undoing against Kang. Moreover, Elliott was badly gassed after just two minutes against Batur, as he tried to end the fight with every power punch. Cerilli may have his own defensive flaws and be much slower, but he is a smarter, more technical fighter who can absolutely time the one punch he needs to put Elliott to sleep. Elliott is also very much a grappling neophyte, to the point where Cerilli will have an advantage just from training wrestling for MMA over more years. Elliott has the physical qualities to win but must change his entire approach to do so. That seems doubtful at best. Cerilli by first-round knockout is the pick.
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