UFC 205 Date: November 12, 2016 Arena: Madison Square Garden City: New York City, NY Middleweight bout: Chris Weidman (-175) vs Yoel Romero (+155) Fight Breakdown: The main card for UFC 205 at Madison Square Gardenn in New York City will be a middleweight contest between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero. Weidman is a -175 ($175 to win $100) betting favorite heading into the contest, with Romero being a +155 ($100 to win $155) underdog at Several Bookmakers. Chris Weidman (13-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is coming off a third round TKO loss against Luke Rockhold, where he lost his UFC Middleweight title and tasted defeat for the first time in his professional mixed martial arts career. Now in an effort to bounce back into the win column, he will take on Romero and look to defeat him in impressive fashion. Weidman is a very talented wrestler who was a two-time Division I All-American at Hofstra University, defeating the likes of light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Phil Davis. He works great takedowns and does an excellent job of using his strikes to set-up said takedowns. The 32 year old is quite dominant on the mat and very effective from top position. He makes excellent transitions, advancing from position to position. He has a powerful ground and pound attack, from where he likes to use his heavy fists and vicious elbows. To compliment his wrestling, the Serra-Longo product also has an incredible Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game. Weidman is, in general, a tremendous grappler, both offensively and defensively. He has a great sprawl and fantastic takedown defense, being capable of keeping his fights on the feet whenever preferring to do so. The Long-Island native is very aggressive inside the cage and likes to be the aggressor pushing the pace. He is an orthodox striker who has developed a solid boxing game and uses his hooks really well, especially his left, which he used to knockout Anderson Silva in their first fight when he won the title. Weidman has great footwork, a strong chin and packs serious power in his hands. He has a heavy right hand and likes to throw the over-hand right. He has a nice jab and is very good at working counters. The Ring of Combat veteran has a great uppercut and likes to implement his elbows on the feet, which he used to knock out Munoz in their outing. Weidman puts together some solid and effective combinations on the feet, and he has been developing his kicking game, doing a good job of working inside leg kicks and throwing high kicks. I expect him to have a full gas tank for three rounds of action in this contest, if necessary. Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over Jacare Souza at UFC 194 nearly a year ago. He rides an impressive seven fight winning streak inside the Octagon, which he will be looking to extend to eight on Saturday night. Five of his seven wins have come inside the distance, with four of them being third round knockouts. Romero is without a doubt a finisher and has been prior to entering the UFC, as nine of his 11 career wins have come by way of T/KO. “Soldier of God”is a southpaw who throws very heavy hands, and packs a lot of power behind every strike. His lone career loss came against Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante under the Strikeforce banner, where the Olympic silver medalist was doing well in the bout until getting caught on the feet towards the end of the second frame. The Cuban is a talented wrestler with silver and bronze medals in the Olympics. He works great takedowns and has a beautiful double leg. When in top position on the mat, he is brutal with his heavy ground and pound, as was evident with his knockout of Machida. The 39 year old is definitely a heavy hitter who is always looking to put his opponents away, and despite his age, he is arguably the fastest middleweight in the division. He has great movement on the feet, and uses the inside leg kick really well. Romero has solid striking defense, and is very patient, as he looks for opportunities to explode. His conditioning seems to be hit or miss, so it is a question mark as to how he will look entering the third frame of this contest, should it get that far. Gabe’s Thoughts: I think this is a close fight and don’t really see any betting value on either fighter at the current odds, however I do think they are both tough to put away and will likely fight to the judges’ scorecards. At -220, I’ll take a shot at the Total of Over 2.5 rounds here. Gabe’s Call: Weidman by Split Decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Over 2.5 rounds (-220) 2.2u to win 1u
