Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Almeida vs. Garbrandt’

Middleweights

Chris Camozzi (23-10) vs Vitor Miranda (12-4)

THE MATCHUP: Ah, middleweights. Neither Camozzi nor Miranda are perfect fighters, but both men are exceedingly crafty and dangerous in a variety of different ways. Such is the beauty of the oddball middleweight division, the league of extraordinary journeymen.

Camozzi is, above all else, an underrated fighter. Though his record looks unremarkable at first glance, the closeness of his losses is more important than the quantity. Ronaldo Souza is the only man to have dominated Camozzi in the last five years. Which is why, despite being cut from the UFC twice, Camozzi has always found his way back onto the roster. Whether building prospects or matchup up entertaining fights, “hard to beat” is a surprisingly hard quality to come by.

Camozzi is primarily a boxer, though he complements his punching with some excellent low kicks. His set of tools is fairly small, but he is willing enough to adjust his overall game -- a little more pressure here, a little more volume there -- to make the whole thing work remarkably well. He is not particularly powerful, but he fights at a steady pace while rarely showing signs of tiring, and responds well to pressure. As a result, Camozzi tends to do very well in the later rounds.

Miranda fits the Carlos Condit mold in that he is not as bad a wrestler as his porous takedown defense would suggest. Miranda’s problem seems to be one of transitions -- or the lack thereof. When he is kickboxing, he is kickboxing, and nothing else. That makes him easy to put down, but once Miranda finds himself locked into a grappling exchange, he shows some solid BJJ and wrestling chops.

Still, kickboxing is Miranda’s domain. With a typically Brazilian style of muay Thai, the K-1 Brazil Grand Prix champion is comfortable moving both forward and backward. He possesses quick, powerful hands, including a snapping jab and a counter left hook that extends suddenly just after Miranda blocks a punch. Miranda’s kicks are the most dangerous part of his arsenal. Setting them up with his hands, he will throw both legs to legs, body, and head. Two of Miranda’s three UFC wins have come via head kick. The third, a crushing TKO via strikes from top position, speaks to his improvement as a mixed martial artist.

THE ODDS: Mirand (-193), Camozzi (+164)

THE PICK: Camozzi is generally a more reliable fighter than Miranda with much better defense, whether stopping takedowns or evading strikes. But Miranda hits harder, moves faster and throws greater volume with more variety. That speed and power should play the key role here, as much of Camozzi’s success is owed to craft rather than athleticism. In other words, he is successful despite his unremarkable physical attributes. If Miranda slows in the latter half of the bout then Camozzi will have his chance, but until that happens “Lex Luthor” should have the easier time finding his mark. Miranda by unanimous decision.

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