Preview: UFC 201 ‘Lawler vs. Woodley’

Flyweights

Ian McCall (13-5-1) vs. Justin Scoggins (11-2)

THE MATCHUP: Scoggins had fight fans hopeful when he styled on Richie Vaculik in his UFC debut. A pair of losses to awkward wrestlers Dustin Ortiz and John Moraga halted his progress a bit, but Scoggins has since proven those high hopes worthwhile. In his last fight, Scoggins put on a masterful performance, defeating blue-chip prospect Ray Borg in every phase and blending his attacks like a true mixed martial artist.

Scoggins has a curious game, rooted in Kenpo karate and freestyle wrestling. In other words, he strikes like Stephen Thompson and wrestles like Frankie Edgar -- though of course he has yet to reach the heights of either of those men. Scoggins fights beautifully out of a southpaw stance, using a snapping right jab and a deadly counter left to punish forward movement while picking away with deceptively powerful kicks when he has the range he wants. When the distance closes, Scoggins prefers to wrestle from the clinch, using his height to wrench opponents around with double underhooks. He is a deft scrambler on the ground and, in his fight with Borg, showed excellent strategic awareness, separating from the submission expert and landing strikes as he returned to his feet.

McCall is a big test for Scoggins. He is 2-3-1 in his last six appearances, but the three losses are to John Lineker, now a bantamweight contender, Joseph Benavidez, flyweight’s killer bridesmaid, and Demetrious Johnson, with whom McCall also managed a draw. He should have a considerable experience advantage over Scoggins. Once regarded as the best flyweight in the world, “Uncle Creepy” has been fighting 125’s elite for 10 years. He has consistently struggled to remain calm and focused in his fights, however. McCall seems to be an emotional fighter and zeroes in on whatever his opponent is giving him. When Lineker nearly cinched up a guillotine, McCall completely abandoned the takedown and struck with the knockout artist. When power kickboxer Iliarde Santos beckoned for McCall to have an exciting striking match, he happily obliged.

McCall is not a bad striker by any stretch of the imagination. He moves well from side to side, mixes kicks and punches and works behind a sharp jab. His lack of strategic focus partially negates all of these strengths, however, and leads McCall to brawl with opponents against whom he should look to wrestle.

THE ODDS: Scoggins (-230), McCall (+195)

THE PICK: McCall gets a bad rap these days simply because he loses to the best in the division. Victories over Santos and Brad Pickett are not to be taken lightly, however, and McCall is absolutely a stiff challenge for the inexperienced Scoggins. In other words, McCall only loses to the best; for Scoggins, a win would cement him as such. Unfortunately for McCall, Scoggins has an odd style almost guaranteed to frustrate him. If McCall becomes focused on solving Scoggins’ karate -- or bashing his way through it -- Scoggins is sharp enough to pick him apart and outwrestle him. The pick is Scoggins by close unanimous decision.

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