Two high-profile matchups are declared for upcoming battle cards, and my initial thoughts on both are under.
Kevin Lee vs. Rafael dos Anjos, UFC Fight Night 151
Kevin Lee is done with lightweight as he will move up to welterweight and take on former UFC lightweight winner Rafael dos Anjos at the main event of UFC Fight Night 151. The event is set for May 18 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.
Lee (17-4) is 10-4 at the UFC with all of his previous bouts taking place in lightweight. After losing a choice to Al Iaquinta in his last bout, Lee hinted he would be moving up a weight class as at age 26 he has grown out of his lightweight frame. Although he won’t have the size advantage he’d down at 155lbs, together with his quality wrestling skills and improved striking Lee should nevertheless be a good contender at 170lbs, an the UFC is throwing him into the fire in his divisional introduction against a former title challenger in dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos (28-11) is 17-9 at the UFC and has turned out to be equally a elite lightweight and welterweight. But at age 34, he is finally showing signs of a decline with consecutive decision losses to Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Losing to these fighters on newspaper is not a massive deal, but the Usman fight was a blowout and it’s possible all of the harm has really taken it’s toll on him now. Still, I’d give RDA a good opportunity to beat Lee in this fight. With Lee’s fame and youth benefit I expect him to be put as a decently-sized favored, making RDA an intriguing dog play if that’s indeed the case.
Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Blachowicz, UFC 239
The very first bout added to UFC 239 is a good man, as former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will proceed up to light heavyweight to shoot on Jan Blachowicz. The card takes place July 6 in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke news of the bout.
Rockhold (16-4) is 6-3 overall from the UFC, with all of his previous bouts coming in middleweight. He hasn’t competed because a KO loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 221 at February 2018, and his last success was a TKO win over David Branch in September 2017. Regardless of the long layoff, Rockhold is still an extremely intriguing addition to the UFC light heavyweight division. It was not that long ago when Rockhold was the best middleweight in the world when he won five consecutive struggles by finish in the UFC over Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Costa Philippou and Tim Boetsch. His shocking KO loss to Bisping in the pair’s rematch in June 2016 will return as one of the game’s greatest all-time upsets and Rockhold has struggled since then. However, the thought process is that his chin ought to be sturdier moving up a weight class, although that remains to be seen.
Blachowicz (23-8) is 6-5 from the UFC and also was recently knocked out by Thiago Santos in a potential light heavyweight title eliminator. Prior to that, Blachowicz had won four straight struggles by stoppage and was looking like a title contender. The reduction to Santos shows his true place in the division, as a luxury gatekeeper who isn’t quite prepared to fight to the belt. That’s why this is good matchmaking from the UFC. Blachowicz is highly ranked yet beatable, therefore there is a fantastic chance Rockhold defeats him takes his place in the top-five, making him an instant competitor for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones if that happens. Start looking for Rockhold to be a strong favorite heading into the particular bout.
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