UFC Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Constantinos Philippou
Odds: (-155 Rivera /+125 Philippou )
Betting Pick: Rivera
Bet on this fight at Bodog.com
In a featured Middleweight bout, Team Serra’s Constantinos Philippou steps up on late notice to replace the injured Alessio Sakara against heavy-handed veteran Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera. This is only Philippou’s second Octagon appearance, and he lost in his debut, so it shows a lot of guts for him to take this fight on short notice when his spot in the company might well be on the line. Philippou has a well-rounded skill set, but Rivera is a very dangerous puncher with a wealth of experience, so the Matt Serra protege is going to have his hands full here.
Constantinos Philippou is a promising young prospect who trains with Matt Serra in New York. His UFC debut was unsuccessful, but he proved in Ring of Combat that he has the tools to succeed in this sport at a high level. He has a very good skill set, with solid, powerful striking, decent wrestling, and good submissions. His problem is that he hasn’t fought very good competition thusfar in his career and he isn’t the kind of fighter who has one completely overpowering skill. He is going to need a career performance and a perfect game plan if he wants to topple a skilled veteran like Rivera.
Jorge Rivera is a very dangerous striker with a decade of professional experience under his belt. His offense is not particularly versatile, and he doesn’t have a huge amount of offensive grappling, but his striking is very technically sound and he has a surplus of punching power. He is definitely beatable, and has questionable submission defense and a somewhat spotty chin, but you really have to look out for his punching power at all times.
This is a bad fight for Philippou. Rivera is a much better striker, has a lot more experience, and isn’t entering this fight on short notice. Philippou might have the edge on the ground, but he isn’t a dominant wrestler and his submissions are hardly a sure fire thing. I think Rivera is going to easily handle Philippou on the feet and eventually catch him for a T/KO.
Prediction: Jorge Rivera via third round T/KO.
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