Preview: UFC on ESPN 9 ‘Woodley vs. Burns’

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Lightweights

Roosevelt Roberts (9-1) vs. Brok Weaver (15-4)

ODDS: Roberts (-310), Weaver (+255)

This is an interesting confrontation between Dana White’s Contender Series alums. Roberts has gotten some talk as a potential star, which seems a bit odd. He certainly has the talent to eventually become a contender, but he has not developed much in the way of a crowd-pleasing style. Roberts has a reedy frame and gets most of his work done in the clinch, where he often manages to catch opponents in some sort of unorthodox choke. Against better competition, that part of his game has hit a bit of a wall. Roberts has had some difficulty dealing with opponents closer to his own size or having some combination of strength and savvy, but he has been able to pivot and leverage his length into a well-practiced but low-paced striking game.

On the other side, Weaver has the opposite approach. He also favors the clinch, but he is much more of an aggressive madman, constantly in motion and willing to dive into his opponent and create some offense if that is what the situation demands. However, he has not had much of a chance to show that on the big stage. His DWCS opponent mostly stalled him out against the cage, and his UFC debut against Kazula Vargas was over quickly—after Vargas ended the fight with an illegal knee and got disqualified.

Weaver should be able to show off a bit more against Roberts, but this fight is going to come down to who is stronger and more practiced in those clinch situations. Based on the evidence, that looks to be Roberts. He should manage to grind out a win, even if Weaver should constantly make him work for it and could even steal a round or two on pace and offense in the moments where the two are not locked up. The pick is Roberts via decision.

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