A Fight Night With Squeezed Juice
By Eddie Sanchez
The Light Heavyweight division, headed by Jan Blachowicz, has an intriguing matchup between #1 contender Thiago Santos (21-7) and #3 contender Glover Teixeira (31-7).
Given that the #2 ranked contender, Dominick Reyes, got decimated by Jan, this intriguing matchup should get much more clamor than it is. I mean after all, the winner will be as true as a number one contender could possibly be.
So what gives with the title?
Well, if Dana White is a reputable source, it looks like Israel Adesanya is moving up to light-heavy in an attempt to gain the elusive Champ-Champ status.
Izzy’s star power seems to be growing by the day and this is a great opportunity to challenge for the title given that Jon Jones no longer has a stranglehold on the division, as he himself looks up toward the top Heavyweight matchups.
There has been bickering between Izzy and Bones throughout 2020 and the former is doing his part to add to his relatively-young legacy, and he let Jon Jones know how he feels.
Before diving into my thoughts on the matchup, it is important to discuss the implications for the rest of the division. I commend Dana for announcing this plan prior to UFC Fight Night, Santos-Teixeira, because it would send the wrong message to have them compete thinking the winner is guaranteed the next title shot. It would come off as disrespectful to these men and disingenuous to the viewing public.
Santos comes in as the favorite at (-240) to Glover at (+200). While I think this is the correct assessment going into the bout, there is some intrigue given that Santos is fighting for the first time since his July 2019 loss to Jon Jones.
Alternatively, Glover is on a four fight win streak, having most recently pummeled Anthony Smith this past May. He is hoping that his activity will give him the edge early on in the fight while Thiago works to get himself up to speed. Glover also senses that this is likely his last opportunity to compete for the title given his advanced age at 41 years old.
This matchup will be interesting stylistically as Thiago is tied with the most KO finishes in UFC history at 11, while Glover is tied for the most submissions in LHW history at 5. The key will be whether Glover can rack up early takedowns to tire out Thiago. If he is unsuccessful, then Thiago will likely extend his KO record.
No matter the outcome of this fight, it looks to be an exciting watch. Emphasis on the watch, because the victor will have to watch Israel Adesanya jump the line for the opportunity to face current champ Jan Blachowicz.
While it’s entirely too early to look deeply in this title fight considering that it hasn’t even been signed yet, I am extremely excited. Jan is riding a streak of (8-1) in his last nine fights, with his last loss coming to Thiago Santos, and he looked absolutely amazing in destroying Dominick Reyes.
His power was represented heavily and it will be interesting to see how Izzy handles the elevated power. There were thoughts that Paulo Costa’s power was going to give Izzy fits, but his speed and elusiveness was too much for the Brazilian. It will be that speed which will be his key to victory.
Jan will have to be relentless with his attacks as he works past Izzy’s leg kicks and defense. If Jan can absorb those shots to his leg successfully and power through to Izzy, he will have the opportunity to land some devastating blows.
This fight is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to see how Izzy handles the new class. However, don’t let this distract you from the fact that we have a highly intriguing matchup this weekend against Santos-Teixeira, because that winner will either be jan’s second defense of the title or Izzy’s first. So while the announcement squeezes some of the juice off the upcoming UFC Fight Night, there is still much to get excited about.
