Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Mark Muñoz
Odds: (-200 Okami /+160 Munoz )
In the co-main event of the evening, two very tough and highly skilled wrestlers will try to assert themselves as title challengers for Anderson Silva’s Middleweight crown. Okami was considered by many to be the top contender for a title shot before his loss to Chael Sonnen, but Munoz has very dangerous striking to complement his wrestling background, which means Okami is going to need a great performance to get his #1 contender’s spot back.
Mark Munoz is an extremely talented wrestler, but you would never guess it from watching his fights. Rather than relying on clinching, dirty boxing, takedowns, and ground and pound like so many other fighters with amateur wrestling pedigrees, Munoz usually just blasts his opponents into unconsciousness with his powerful Muay Thai and boxing. Still, he does have wrestling skill, and that is going to be extremely important against Okami, who has made a career out of neutralizing the offense of his opponents with clinch work and top control.
Okami is undeniably one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC today. His fights are not always very exciting to watch, which is probably why he has flown under the radar for so long, but he has very solid boxing and an uncanny ability to shut down his opponents’ offense with wrestling and a stifling “wall and stall” strategy. Technically, he is a sound boxer, but he has nowhere near the finishing power that Munoz packs, so he is going to have to try to keep his opponent tied up for the majority of this fight.
This is an interesting matchup. There is no question that Munoz has more finishing power on the feet and a more versatile striking attack. The question is whether his wrestling background is going to be enough to keep Okami from stifling his striking game and holding him down for extended periods of time. I just don’t see it happening. Okami can keep Munoz at bay with his boxing, which is technical if not powerful, and press him up against the cage to stifle offense. I just think that this is too big a step up in competition for Munoz at this stage, and Okami should take the unanimous decision.
Prediction: Yushin “Thunder” Okami via unanimous decision.
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