Danny Roberts
Age: 31
Nationality: British
MMA Record: 15-3
UFC Record: 4-2
Notable Wins: Nathan Coy, Jim Wallhead
Notable Losses: Mike Perry, Nordic Taleb
Last Fight: KO win over Oliver Enkamp
David Zawada
Age: 27
Nationality: German
MMA Record: 16-3
UFC Record: Debut
Notable Wins: Andreas Stahl
Notable Losses: None
Last Fight: Submission win over Michal Michalski
Fighter profile: A talented yet inconsistent welterweight, Danny Roberts has had an up-and-down start to his UFC career. The Brit won his first two UFC bouts with a a submission win over Nathan Coy and a decision win over Dominique Steele in a “Fight of the Night” performance, but was knocked out by Mike Perry to snap his seven-fight win streak. A KO win over Bobby Nash put Roberts back in the win column but a KO loss to Nordine Taleb sent him back to reality. Most recently, Roberts knocked out Oliver Enkamp to get back on track. Roberts is definitely an action fighter and he’s a lot of fun to watch, but he needs to start being more consistent inside the Octagon if he wants to stick around for a while longer and be labelled an actual contender.
Fighter profile: A newcomer to the Octagon, David Zawada brings a lot of promise and potential with him to the UFC welterweight division. The German is riding a five-fight win streak into his UFC debut, with three of his last four wins coming in KSW. 14 of his wins have come by stoppage including a submission win over Michal Michalski which got him into the UFC. Zawada is more knock for his knockout power but he has the ability to submit opponents as well. To get into the UFC he had to take a short-notice fight against a credible opponent in Roberts, but it was an opportunity that he just couldn’t pass up and now we’ll see what he does with it.
Fight breakdown: It’s unfortunate that Alan Jouban got hurt because his fight with Roberts was going to be amazing, but Zawada is a pretty good replacement on such short notice. This is going to be an action-packed fight and I don’t see it going to the judges’ scorecards. That being said, I have to favor Roberts to get his hand raised. He has more experience against higher-level competition and even though he’s been up-and-down lately, I think the level of opposition he’s lost to is a big reason why. Zawada has the potential to surprise, but I think the most likely outcome here is Roberts landing a big shot and putting Zawada out cold.
Prediction: Danny Roberts via KO
