Preview: UFC Fight Night 200 Prelims

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Welterweights

NR | Philip Rowe (8-3, 1-1 UFC) vs. NR | Jason Witt (19-7, 2-2 UFC)

ODDS: Rowe (-135), Witt (+115)

Rowe is an interesting prospect, even if “The Fresh Prince” still has a long way to go in his development. With a massive 6-foot-3 frame for a welterweight, Rowe is an obvious physical talent, but his 2019 Dana White’s Contender Series win over Leon Shahbazyan was essentially his first fight against real professional competition. It showed, as Rowe’s physical gifts compensated for a relatively aimless approach; and he was obviously thrown off a bit once Gabriel Green managed to survive in what turned out to be an unsuccessful UFC debut. Rowe still struggled a bit against another tough grinder in Orion Cosce in July but eventually scored the knockout, and he looks to build on that performance in his latest assignment. Witt looked to be on the journeyman track before getting the late-notice UFC call in 2020, and “The Vanilla Gorilla” has turned that opportunity into a nicely successful run. Witt’s approach is relatively basic, marching forward with power punches and looking to wrestle, and he has ridden that to two wins in four UFC bouts, beating Cole Williams in 2020 and scoring a huge upset over Bryan Barberena in July. The issue for Witt? His situation can quickly turn south against better athletes. He is slow-footed and has not held up to one-shot knockout artists, as Takashi Sato and Matthew Semelsberger were each able to spark him in under a minute. If Witt can drag Rowe into deep waters, this becomes an interesting fight. With that said, Rowe looks to be firmly on the level of athlete that can quickly finish Witt without much issue. The pick is Rowe via first-round knockout.

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