UFC Welterweight bout: Mike Pyle vs. Rory MacDonald
Odds: (+230 Pyle /-300 MacDonald )
Betting Pick: MacDonald
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In the opening bout of the evening, two skilled grapplers will go head to head as long-time veteran Mike “Quicksand” Pyle meets Rory “Ares” MacDonald in a Welterweight showdown. Both of these guys have serious grappling skills, but Pyle has a big experience advantage over MacDonald, so MacDonald is going to need a great performance if he wants to keep up his recent momentum.
Rory “Ares” MacDonald is an extremely promising young fighter with an extremely dynamic offensive skill set. He has lost only once as a professional, getting finished on strikes by top contender Carlos Condit in a fight he was otherwise dominating with only seconds to spare. In his last fight against Nathan Diaz, he physically dominated Diaz, tossing him around like a ragdoll en route to a unanimous decision victory. MacDonald is a very dangerous fighter with very good wrestling, solid and powerful boxing, and extremely effective submissions. The only question mark is how he will handle a similarly physical grappler with much more high-level experience than him.
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle is also an extremely proficient grappler who has been fighting high level competition for years. While Pyle is not quite as well-rounded as MacDonald, he is a very physical grappler with years of experience and top-notch submissions. Like MacDonald, Pyle is a very physical guy with good grappling. He will enter this fight with a huge advantage in experience, both in terms of number of fights and level of competition. The big question mark about Pyle is that, despite his ability to submit opponents, his submission defense is not the best in the world.
This is going to be a very competitive bout. Both of these guys have world class ground games, but I think the slight edge has to go to MacDonald. For one thing, MacDonald is definitely the superior striker. For another, I think he is physically stronger, and a superior wrestler, which means he will dictate position when this fight inevitably goes to the ground. I don’t see either one of these guys finishing the other, but MacDonald’s superior striking and ability to dictate when and how this fight hits the ground should allow him to score enough points to secure the unanimous decision win.
Prediction: Rory MacDonald via Unanimous Decision.
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