UFC Middleweight bout: Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald
Odds: (-300 Belcher /+230 MacDonald )
Betting Pick: Belcher
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In a featured Middleweight bout, well-rounded veteran Alan “The Talent” Belcher will look to overcome talented Canadian grappler Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald. MacDonald is not the most consistent fighter in the world but he lives up to his nickname, using his athleticism to control guys on the ground and look for submissions. Belcher is definitely the better-rounded of the two, but he doesn’t have an answer for MacDonald’s submissions so he is going to need to fight carefully and try to get this done on the feet.
Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald is a very rudimentary striker, but his ground game is excellent. He is quick and strong, and he has very effective wrestling and extremely good submissions. If he can’t get Belcher down early and keep him there, he is going to be in for a long night. He will be outboxed handily by Belcher, so he is going to need to enforce his own gameplan from the opening bell if he wants to leave with a victory.
Alan “The Talent” Belcher is currently riding a two fight win streak, with an impressive submission win over Patrick Cote in his last bout. Cote isn’t one of the most effective fighters in the world at any one thing, but he doesn’t have any glaring holes in his game and he puts it all together very well. He has heavy hands, solid wrestling, and effective submissions. Against MacDonald he would be wise not to test his ground game too much and instead try to keep this fight standing where he will have an advantage in both technique and power.
I think Belcher is the better-rounded of the two, and his ability to control the fight standing and frustrate MacDonald’s takedown attempts should be enough to earn him a unanimous decision. MacDonald will make it a fight, but Belcher is capable of fighting in more places than MacDonald is, and in the end it will be too much. Belcher by decision.
Prediction: Alan Belcher via Unanimous Decision.
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