205 lbs. Krysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera (10-3)
The opening match of the televised event is a clash of two similar fighters, Brandon “The Truth” Vera and Krysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski, both of whom are looking to establish themselves as future contenders for the Light Heavyweight Title.
Brandon Vera, who was initially considered a top prospect at Heavyweight, eventually realized that his size just couldn’t stack up and dropped to 205, where he was expected to be a dominant force. Since then, he has gone 2-1 and turned in a few decidedly lackluster performances. Despite not quite living up to the hype, Vera is an extremely dangerous fighter with a versatile offensive arsenal. His Muay Thai is vicious and unorthodox and he has a very good ground game, training under Lloyd Irvin. His takedown defense is going to play an important role in this fight, as he probably has a slight advantage standing and a slight disadvantage on the ground.
Soszynski, an IFL veteran, has looked very good since making his UFC debut. His standup is not amazing, but his physical style coupled with good wrestling and awesome submissions make him a dangerous opponent for anyone. Against Vera, he probably does not want to stand and trade, because he is outclassed in terms of speed and technique. On the ground, though, especially from top position, Soszynski has all the tools necessary to control his opponent and even submit him.
Although this is a very competitive matchup, I have to give the edge to Soszynski. Vera is dangerous, but I think Soszynski’s punishing style creates a bad matchup for him.
I see Vera getting the best of the early standup exchanges, but ultimately I think Soszynski should be able to control the pace of the fight with takedowns and top control, doing enough damage to earn a unanimous decision.
