UFC 178 Date: September 27, 2014 Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena City: Las Vegas, NV Lightweight bout: Jon Tuck (+178) vs Kevin Lee (-215) Fight Breakdown: The UFC Fight Pass portion of the UFC 178 preliminary card will be featuring a lightweight contest between Jon “Super Saiyan” Tuck and Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee, with Tuck being the betting underdog at +178 ($100 to win $178) and Lee being the favorite at -215 ($215 to win $100) at Several Bookmakerss. Jon “Super Saiyan” Tuck (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is set to make his fourth appearance inside the Octagon, coming off a very dominant and impressive third round submission victory. Training out of the MMA Lab in Glendale, AZ, Tuck has some of the best lighter-weight training partners on the planet in former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson, The Ultimate Fighter season 8 winner Efrain Escudero, former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner, Joe Riggs and others. “Super Saiyan” owns a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is well-versed in the submission game, both offensively and defensively. To compliment his ground game, he is also solid on the feet. He has power behind his hands and is a definite finisher, owning three of his eight professional mixed martial arts victories by way of T/KO, and also four via tapout, though it is worth noting that his latest victory, while a submission, was actually a submission due to strikes, as his opponent Lindsey tapped out when a heel kick to the body crippled him. Tuck’s conditioning is not great, though he has been making improvements in the department. Even so, I think he will be at a bit of a disadvantage against Lee in that department, though he should hold somewhat of an edge on the feet. Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is fresh off a split decision victory over Canadian striker Jesse Ronson at the TUF 19 Finale a couple of months ago and will be looking to pick up his second Octagon victory in three appearances this Saturday night against the Guam native Jon Tuck. Lee is a talented wrestler who holds notable career victories over Bellator veteran JP Reese and current BAMMA lightweight champion Mansour Barnaoui. He has solid takedowns, and is quite effective with both the single and double-leg takedowns. He makes excellent transitions on the mat, doing a great job advancing from position to position. “The Motown Phenom” is a good boxer who is light on his feet. He has a solid lead jab, a nice uppercut, and throws a heavy overhand right. He has a good high kick, and also works kicks to the body really well. That said, Lee mainly uses his striking to set up his takedowns. He likes to get his opponents up against the cage, where he does damage with his knees, and when he decides to take the fight down to the mat, he employs a solid ground and pound attack. The 22 year old has decent striking defense, good submission defense, and great takedown defense. He works a great front-choke, which he has finished a couple of his recent opponents with. Training out of Triumph MMA in Grand Rapids, MI, Lee is durable fighter who has great coaches and does a good job of listening to them when inside the cage. Gabe’s Thoughts: Lee will enter this bout with a wrestling advantage and I think that will play the difference in this round, as I expect him to score takedowns and spend enough time in top control to win rounds on the judges’ scorecards for a unanimous decision victory. Gabe’s Call: “The Motown Phenom” by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Kevin Lee (-215) 4.3u to win 2u
