A huge heavyweight fight has been added to the UFC’s December pay-per-view card. The UFC today announced that Travis Browne will take on Brendan Schaub at UFC 181, which is set for Dec. 6 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The event is headlined by a five-round title fight between UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and challenger Vitor Belfort, and the co-main event is a five-round title fight between UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and challenger Gilbert Melendez. With the addition of Browne vs. Schaub to the card, there’s no doubt this is one of the better-looking main cards of the year so far, and there’s still two more fights to be added. As for the matchup itself, Browne should be a sizeable favorite in this one. Sure, Schaub has knockout power and a solid ground game, but is he going to take Browne down? I highly doubt that, and on the feet while Schaub does have KO power, he also has a notoriously-questionable chin while Browne’s only been knocked out once, and it came in a fight where he was injured in. Should this fight stay on the feet, Browne has a huge edge in overall striking ability (he throws knees, kicks, and punches, while Schaub only throws punches) and also in chin, and if it does stay standing I just can’t envision Schaub winning, unless he can catch Browne’s chin and put him out. But if it does hit the ground for whatever reason, while Browne is decent down there I would give Schaub a slight edge, although with his lack of a wrestling background I’m not really sure if he can take Browne down easily. As for a betting line, Schaub always gets respect from the bettors but I would be shocked if he got much respect here considering the matchup. In my eyes, Browne should be a -300 favorite in this fight, and I really think if he’s available at anything less than that there will be value. Of course, it’s a heavyweight fight and therefore the chances of a fluke KO are more likely than in any other weight class, but I’ll be honest and say that if Schaub beats Browne I would be very, very surprised, and I really think the UFC booked this fight as a way to get Browne back on track and back on the path towards a shot at the UFC heavyweight championship.
