UFC Fight Night 37 Date: March 8, 2014 Arena: O2 Arena City: London, England Bantamweight bout: Davey Grant (-115) vs Roland Delorme (-105) Fight Breakdown: The UFC Fight Night 37 preliminary card on UFC Fight Pass will feature a bantamweight scrap between a pair of veterans of The Ultimate Fighter television series, when season 18’s Brit, Davey Grant takes on season 14’s Canuck, Roland Delorme. The betting odds for this bantamweight contest are currently at a near coin-flip, with Grant being -115 ($115 to win $100) and Delorme being -105 ($105 to win $100 at Several Bookmakerss. “DANGEROUS” DAVEY GRANT (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) made his professional mixed martial arts debut in the summer of 2009, where he suffered defeat via armbar in the first round. He took over a year off, and did not fight again until the winter of 2010. He sharpened his skill-set, and made sure he was ready before getting in the cage again. Ready he was, as he scored two submission victories on the same night in a tournament when he returned to the cage. He followed them all up with six more wins inside the distance. He sandwiched a loss between another eight fight winning streak and followed his dream of becoming a UFC champion by trying out for The Ultimate Fighter. He is a big bantamweight, and in his fight to get into the house, he was matched up against current flyweight UFC fighter Danny Martinez. After being deducted a point for an illegal knee, he finished the fight with an armbar and earned himself a spot in the TUF house. In the quarter finals, Grant faced Louis Fisette, another natural flyweight. He ran through Fisette, beating him up, and then finishing him with a choke. His opponent for the semifinals, Anthony Gutierrez, did not make weight, so the Brit received a free pass to the finals. After two wins over flyweights, he couldn’t overcome tough bantamweight contender and rising Team Alpha Male product Chris Holdsworth in the Finale. The Brit is a very well-rounded fighter, and he hits hard. He has good boxing and kickboxing skills. He likes to throw heavy punches, and hard knees. The ten fight pro likes to work opponents against the cage, but more-so on the mat via ground and pound attack. Once on the canvas, his opponents have to look out for more than just his vicious strikes, as he is very skilled in the submission game, owning seven of eight career wins by tapout. Grant has made it out of the first round only once in his professional mixed martial arts career, and it resulted in a second round submission loss to Holdsworth. That certainly leads me to question his cardio, but it is not a big concern, as I feel even if it isn’t great, it should still be better than Delorme’s. ROLAND DELORME (9-2-1 NC MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) is set to make his return to the Octagon, following a split decision loss against Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres in front of his hometown Canadian crowd. After more than five months away from the cage, Delorme is ready to get back in there and get back on the win column. Delorme’s striking skills are elementary. He improves slightly from fight to fight, but still has much to learn if he plans to survive with the best strikers in the division. Talented strikers with submission defense will spell trouble for him and that could be the case in this scrap against the Brit. The 30-year old likes to leap in with his punches, and favors his hooks and uppercuts. He puts together many 1-2 combinations on the feet, but rarely ever more than a two-shot combo. Sometimes, Delorme likes to use the 1-2 to set up his double-leg takedown, so he can take the fight to the mat, where he always figures to have the most success. The Canadian is an excellent submission artist, owning six of nine professional mixed martial arts career wins by way of tapout. He is very effective on the mat, both offensively and defensively. The Ultimate Fighter season 14 veteran has very good submission defense, is an incredible scrambler, and scores beautiful reversals. While Grant’s cardio is questionable, I think he will have the advantage in that department in this bantamweight match-up, as conditioning is one of Delorme’s biggest weaknesses. He always starts off strong in the first round, but you see him fading in rounds two and three. In the Caceres bout, he took the first round on the judges’ scorecards, but after the first frame, the superior conditioned “Bruce Leeroy” peppered him on the feet and cruised to a comfortable decision victory. Another weakness Delorme has is that his chin is not very good, and his aforementioned elementary striking skills do not make a good combination with that. Going into this bout against the Brit, Delorme’s gameplan should be to take the fight to the mat as soon as possible and constantly attack with submissions, while maintaining top and/or back control. Fight Prediction: I think Grant has a decent chance of scoring a T/KO over Delorme, but if that does not happen, I think he will manage to do enough to win two out of three rounds on the judges’ scorecards. The Brit is very motivated and hungry. I know that coming off that loss to “Bruce Leeroy” in front of his hometown Canadian crowd and getting a win in London on Saturday means a lot to Delorme, but I think bouncing back from the submission loss to Holdsworth at the TUF 18 finale with a solid win in front of his hometown crowd means just a little more to Grant. I give him advantages on the feet and in the cardio department, plus I just don’t see him getting submitted in back to back match-ups, so at the current line, I do favor him for a play. Gabe’s Pick: “Dangerous” Davey Grant by TKO (strikes, 2:13 round 3) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Davey Grant (-115) 3.45u to win 3u
