Welterweight bout: Tyron Woodley vs. Andre Galvao
Odds: (-275 Woodley / +215 Galvao )
Betting Pick: Tyron Woodley
In the opening bout of the evening, undefeated prospect Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley will look to keep his unblemished record intact against Team Nogueira’s Andre Galvao. Both men are very skilled grapplers, although they come from different backgrounds, so this should be a very competitive ground war. What makes this fight even more interesting is that this is a step up in competition for both guys, so it remains to be seen which one will continue to advance up the ladder.
Galvao, who trains with the Nogueira brothers, has a very good overall ground game and underrated Muay Thai. His boxing and clinch work are solid if not overwhelming, and he can work from any position on the ground fairly effectively. The only issue with his style is that he lacks the ability to really take control of the pace and position of a fight, which could well be disastrous against a wrestler as good as Woodley.
Woodley, an undefeated prospect out of American Top Team, is a very skilled and dominant wrestler. Unlike many guys who enter the sport with an amateur wrestling background, though, Woodley is not a one-dimensional “lay and pray” artist. His submission game from top position is very effective and he has some solid ground and pound also.
This is not a very good stylistic matchup for Galvao at all. Woodley will control when, where, and how this fight goes to the ground, and unlike a lot of wrestlers his jiu-jitsu is good enough to keep Galvao at bay on the ground. Expect Woodley to physically manhandle Galvao for the majority of this fight, bruising him up from top position, and ultimately winning the unanimous decision.
Fight Prediction: Tyron Woodley via unanimous decision.
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