170 lbs: Matt Brown vs. James Wilks
Odds: ( Brown / Wilks)
The second fight of the night is a somewhat inexplicable welterweight matchup pitting Team Jorge Gurgel’s Matt “The Immortal” Brown against relative unknown James “Lightning” Wilks. Brown, who entered The Ultimate Fighter with a decidedly unimpressive minor league record, has nonetheless been impressive in each of his Octagon appearances. If he wants to keep moving up the ladder in the Welterweight division, though, he absolutely must defeat Wilks.
Wilks, who has a seemingly impressive 6-2 professional record, has never actually fought an opponent of consequence. His two biggest wins are against Roman Mitichyan, a middling fighter, and 9-7 Demarques Johnson. When one of your two biggest wins is against a 9-7 UFC also-ran, it is safe to say that you are sorely lacking in the area of big fight experience. Wilks’ best work comes on the ground, but “best work” is not a very telling statement for a guy with Wilks’ track record.
Matt Brown’s record, on paper, is also quite unimpressive. At 10-7, it is easy to assume that Brown is a mid-level fighter at best. His 3-1 mark inside the Octagon, though, is much more impressive, especially when you consider that his one loss was a razor-thin decision loss to highly-regard Dong Hyun Kim. In his last bout, he pulled off a bit of an upset by TKOing veteran Pete Sell in the first frame. Brown’s best attribute is his well-roundedness. While he is not one of the best strikers or grapplers at his weight, he is proficient enough in every part of the fight game that he can go with the flow of fights and never be overwhelmed.
Experience will be the deciding factor in this bout. Brown has a better training camp, more fights against better opponents, and more experience fighting on the big show. In addition, he is quite likely better than Wilks both standing and on the ground.
Fight Prediction: Brown by T/KO, round 2.
