UFC Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
Odds: (-350 Bisping / +275 Rivera )
Betting Pick: Bisping
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In the co-main event, British standout Michael “The Count” Bisping will look to reassert himself into title contention against resurgent veteran Jorge Rivera. Rivera has been calling out his opponents by name recently, the UFC has given him who he wanted, and he has turned those opportunities into big wins. Bisping is a very dangerous guy, but his style is one Rivera has the tools to exploit, so this should be an exciting contest.
Bisping, who entered the UFC by winning The Ultimate Fighter, has sparked a huge growth of Mixed Martial Arts in the United Kingdom. A skilled kickboxer with very underrated jiu-jitsu and a developing wrestling game, Bisping has a lot of skills and constantly continues to improve. The knock on him has always been that he is a striker with no power, which is true, but he has added wrestling and some devastating ground and pound to his already formidable skillset. He isn’t going to turn anyone’s lights out with his punching, but he has great hands and good technique and can pile it on guys until they are worn down. Against Rivera he is going to need to avoid Rivera’s big power punches and try to capitalize on his superior handspeed and accuracy.
Rivera, a longtime journeyman who has been enjoying a very impressive career renaissance, is an extremely tough and heavy-handed slugger with an iron chin and a lot of heart. He has had a lot of mixed results over the years, but has put together an impressive string of performances, going 4-1 in his last 5 with impressive wins over Kendall Grove, Rob Kimmons, and Nate Quarry. Rivera’s submissions are not great, and neither is his submission defense, but he has solid wrestling and ground and pound to go along with his huge power punching.
This is an interesting style matchup. Neither guy has dominant wrestling at all, and they should sort of cancel each other out there. Bisping is undeniably better on the ground, and in the standup Bisping is faster and more technical while Rivera has more power and is more aggressive. In the end, I think Bisping is just a little too fast and accurate for Rivera to handle, and the fact that he might be able to turn Rivera’s aggressive, looping punches into short takedowns and to do damage from top position, I think Bisping should be able to do enough to earn the decision nod.
Prediction: Michael “The Count” Bisping via decision.
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