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Middleweights

NR | Tafon Nchukwi (5-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. NR | Jun Yong Park (12-4, 2-1 UFC)

ODDS: Nchukwi (-140), Park (+120)

Nchukwi is one of the most intriguing prospects in the UFC, even if there are still some questions about his future. Nchukwi’s status as a physical force is what sticks out first and foremost. Even at heavyweight, the Cameroon-born fighter was still able to bully his opponents with little difficulty. “Da Don” cut down to light heavyweight and looked like an absolute terror on Dana White’s Contender Series, which made it a shock when he decided to move down to middleweight for his UFC debut against Jamie Pickett. Nchukwi somehow successfully cut another 20 pounds off of his frame and walked away with the victory, but there is some worry that the move down to 185 pounds may have been one move too many. Nchukwi uses a basic but powerful muay Thai style, and while he was able to separate himself from Pickett, he was hurt by the fact that he was obviously the much slower fighter. Not only did that lessen the surprise of Nchukwi’s knockout blows, but Pickett—admittedly a large middleweight—had a relatively surprising amount of success pursuing a takedown and wrestling game. That makes for a fascinating fight against South Korea’s Park. “The Iron Turtle” prefers a counter-heavy striking style, but he has also shown a willingness to mix in his wrestling, using it as a safety valve against Marc-Andre Barriault before absolutely schooling John Phillips in a one-sided fight in October. That willingness to counter could just get him knocked out cold, but Nchukwi is slow enough at 185 pounds that there should not be much surprise to his offerings after the first few minutes. The pick is for Park to gut out a decision victory.

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