Preview: UFC 262 Prelims

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Middleweights

NR | Jordan Wright (11-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. NR | Jamie Pickett (11-5, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Wright (-110), Pickett (-110)

Through 2018, it was easy to not take Wright seriously, particularly after his fight on Dana White’s Contender Series. Billed as “The Beverly Hills Ninja” and with a particularly weak resume of opponents, the baby-faced Wright briefly flashed some karate stylings before getting annihilated by Anthony Hernandez in under a minute. In the years since, Wright has proven to be a prospect with some potential, even winning his UFC debut with a cut stoppage over Isaac Villanueva. However, Wright does have to do some learning on the job over the course of his UFC career. While he typically starts out with his sniping karate style, opponents have easily been able to force him into more of a brawling mindset with an application of pressure. After losing to Joaquin Buckley in November, Wright looks to rebound here against a fellow DWCS alum. Pickett finally earned a contract in his third shot on the Contender Series in August, when he finally made use of his considerable physical talents. Pickett is a large middleweight with a long reach but often remains too passive for his own good, which made it nice to see him blitz his opponent on DWCS to get his spot on the UFC roster. Pickett figures to consent to Wright’s type of fight for a bit, but “The Night Wolf” has proven to be durable and figures to take over once he decides to spring into action. The pick is Pickett via second-round knockout.

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