Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Odds: (-170 Sotiropoulos /+140 Pellegrino )
In the opening bout of the evening, two of the Lightweight division’s most prolific grapplers will go at it as Australian George Sotiropoulos faces another test in New Jersey’s Kurt Pellegrino. Both of these guys are well-rounded fighters with incredible submissions, so this could be an entertaining bout, as well as an important one for determining Sotiropoulos’ place in the division.
Pellegrino, a long-time UFC veteran who uses his solid boxing and good wrestling to set up his extremely dangerous submission attack, is in a lot of ways the perfect gatekeeper for the division. While he has had some trouble when stepping up to the very top level of competition, his game is very complete and has no glaring holes. Against the middle tier of competition in the Lightweight division, he has looked dominant, so you know that anyone who can make it past Pellegrino is a legitimate contender.
Sotiropoulos, who debuted as an Ultimate Fighter cast member, has looked like a beast since his appearance on the show. His submission game is easily one of the best in the division, but the story lately has been the vast improvements he has shown in his wrestling and boxing. Against Joe Stevenson he looked great on his feet while completely shutting down Stevenson’s formidable ground game at the same time.
Pellegrino is a skilled and well-rounded veteran, but I think he is outgunned by Sotiropoulos here. Sotiropoulos has the crisper and more technical boxing and the better ground game. Pellegrino will give him a fight, but I expect Sotiropoulos to control the action standing and on the ground for an impressive unanimous decision victory.
Fight Prediction: George Sotiropoulos via Unanimous Decision.
To add a little excitement come fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds. They allow you to start with as little as $20, and you can bet on all of the fights for the night. Check out my review of Sportsbook here…
