UFC on ESPN 13 may not have the same star power as the card we just witnessed on Saturday, but there are some solid fights this Wednesday. More importantly, there are some solid betting opportunities!
Jared Gordon and Chris Fishgold are two fighters I’m very familiar with and I’d like to break down the contest from a betting perspective.
Chris Fishgold
There are no secrets to Chris Fishgold’s strategy inside the octagon. He’s looking to charge forward throwing flurries of punches, score takedowns against the fence and maneuver his way to back mount with the intention of choking his opponent unconscious.
Fishgold’s style worked well for him on the British regional circuit, but his ceiling is obvious in the UFC.
Having lost to both Calvin Kattar and Makwan Amirkhani, Fishgold’s sole UFC win came against Daniel Teymur – a fighter renowned for his severe ineptitude in the grappling realm.
In that fight, a failed back take from Fishgold actually resulted in Teymur landing in top position, where he connected with a number of good shots on the ground.
Fishgold is a jiu-jitsu black belt, but I don’t think he’s very positionally sound – you can see more evidence of this in his 2016 fight with Nic Herron-Webb.
The Englishman has plenty of heart and will fight for your money, but he doesn’t have the best gas tank and will be going against a tenacious beast this Wednesday.
Jared Gordon
While Gordon was knocked out early in his last contest, few competitors wanted to travel to Brazil and take on the surging Charles Oliveira in his backyard. He definitely doesn’t lose any respect for that.
The guy is such a warrior that he’s still taking this fight after his entire corner was diagnosed with COVID-19. In fact, his former teammate Paul Felder will be taking a break from his commentating duties to work as a substitute corner for Gordon!
I respect Gordon’s boxing, but his chin is an issue. He’s suffered three bad knockout losses inside the octagon and his durability is a concern at this stage in his career.
That said, I think Gordon is the more complete mixed martial artist and he definitely has the better gas tank.
Even though Gordon is a lower rank in jiu-jitsu than Fishgold, I think he has superior positional awareness and scrambling ability.
Listening to interviews, it sounds like Gordon is planning to come out with a grapple-heavy game plan, which could help to drain the cardio of his opponent.
Pick: Jared Gordon -140
Check out my main card predictions for UFC on ESPN 13.
