Lightweight bout: KJ Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel
Odds: (-205 Noons /+165 Gurgel )
In the evening’s second bout, prolific boxer KJ Noons will square off against UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel in a Lightweight contest. Noons is a deadly boxer with great technique, but is recently returned from a 2 year sabbatical, while Gurgel is trying to rebuild his career after a series of surgeries and a horrible stint in the UFC, so this is a big fight for both guys.
KJ Noons is probably best known for his dominating stoppage win over current 170 pound champ Nick Diaz. In that fight, Noons put on a boxing clinic, tearing Diaz’s face up until the doctor deemed him unable to continue. After following that win up with a destruction of veteran Yves Edwards, Noons took time away from the sport due to contractual issues with Elite XC and a desire to compete as a professional boxer. He looked shaky in return bouts against Andre Amado and Conor Heun, but he is still an extremely precise and accurate puncher who can overwhelm opponents willing to stand in front of him.
Jorge Gurgel is, to put it mildly, the kind of opponent who is willing to stand in front of him. A very accomplished jiu-jitsu black belt, Gurgel has the unfortunate tendency to pretend his ground game doesn’t exist in favor of standing in front of everyone he fights and engaging in sloppy slugfests. Unfortunately for him, he lacks the technique or power to make it a remotely effective strategy, and he has squandered a lot of his career by employing a terrible fight strategy. Also problematic is the series of bad knee injuries he has suffered over the years, which have limited his mobility and his ability to put his weight behind his punches.
Gurgel is very well-rounded, believe it or not, and he has the ability to work a gameplan that could defeat Noons, he just isn’t going to do it. Instead he will stand in front of Noons and get picked apart in routine fashion, dropping a lopsided unanimous decision and probably sending himself to the Challenger’s series for the rest of his career.
Prediction: KJ Noons via unanimous decision.
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