UFC Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young
Odds: (-500 Poirier /+300 Young )
Betting Pick: Poirier
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In the opening bout of the evening, Britain’s Jason “Shotgun” Young steps up on late notice to replace the injured Rani Yahya against rising star Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. Poirier is coming off a huge upset win against Josh “The Fluke” Grispi in his UFC debut, and now he is looking to spoil Young’s big show debut and avoid a big upset of his own. Both of these guys have versatile skill sets, but it remains to be seen how Young will handle the bright lights of the UFC, not to mention his short prep time for this fight.
Jason “Shotgun” Young, a veteran of Cage Rage and some other smaller shows, is making his first appearance in the UFC, and he is doing it on short notice against a very skilled opponent who is riding a lot of momentum. Young is fairly versatile, with decent striking and serviceable wrestling, but he isn’t the kind of guy who is going to take control of a fight or really back opponents off with one dominant skill. He does have decent punching power, but his striking isn’t top-level. He is going to have his hands full here dealing with short notice, a technically superior opponent, and his first time fighting on such a huge stage.
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier had made a rapid rise in his young career. After a rough start to his stint in WEC, dropping a decision loss to Danny Castillo, he put on a great performance stopping Zachary Micklewright on strikes. In his last fight, he pulled off a huge upset by thoroughly beating top contender Josh Grispi in his UFC debut, a fight he was expected to lose. Poirier has a very well-rounded skill set, with good technical striking, good punching power, decent wrestling, and effective submissions. He is also a very good finisher, having only won one fight by decision.
This is going to be a rough matchup for Jason Young. Poirier is just a better, more complete fighter, he has fought better opponents, he didn’t take this fight on short notice, and his strengths play right into Young’s weaknesses. All three of Young’s professional losses are by submission, and Poirier’s submissions are very effective. I don’t think Young is ready for this level of competition, and certainly not without a full camp to prepare, and he is going to pay the price. Poirier by submission.
Prediction: Dustin Poirier via second round rear naked choke.
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