UFC 187 Date: May 23, 2015 Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena City: Las Vegas, NV Welterweight bout: Josh Burkman (+235) vs Dong Hyun Kim (-255) Fight Breakdown: The UFC 187 preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 will feature a welterweight match-up between Octagon veterans Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman and “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim. Burkman is a +235 ($100 to win $235) underdog heading into the contest, with Kim being favored to win at -255 ($255 to win $100) at Several Bookmakerss. Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman (27-10-1 NC MMA, 5-5-1 NC UFC) was released from the UFC after going 5-5 in his first stint with the promotion and being on a three-fight losing streak. He went on a 9-2 run since his release, including posting a 4-1 record under the WSOF banner with wins over Jon Fitch, Gerald Harris, Aaron Simpson and Tyler Stinson, respectively. Burkman was brought back to the UFC for his second and current stint when the promotion needed to find an opponent for Hector Lombard, who not many welterweights are itching to get in a cage with. He made his return and went the full three rounds with the former Bellator Middleweight Champion, but lost the bout via unanimos decision on the judges’ scorecards. However, Hector tested positive during a post-fight drug test for having anabolic steroids in this system, thus the result of the bout was turned into an official No Contest. Heading into this bout against Kim, Burkman hopes for his first Octagon victory in nearly eight years. The 11-fight UFC veteran throws heavy leg kicks and likes working both the inside and outside of his opponents legs. He also loves to employ his knees, especially when he has his opponents against the cage, and he is very vicious with them, always looking to do damage and earn a TKO stoppage. Burkman has a good chin, and likes to switch stances. The former middleweight is effective on the feet, but he tends to throw one strike at a time, and rarely puts together any combinations. The 34-year old has solid takedown defense, and when his back his put against the cage, he is very good at reversing positions and putting his opponents there, using a combination of strength and technique. Burkman works solid takedowns of his own, including a nice double leg, and he does an excellent job of setting them up. He is also well-versed in the submission department, both offensively and defensively. The Salt Lake City Native trains in high altitude at Pit Elevated in Orem, UT under the tutelage of John Hackelman, and he is generally well-conditioned, so he should be ready for 15-minutes of action against Kim, if necessary. “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim (19-3-1-1NC MMA, 10-3-1 NC UFC) was riding a very impressive four fight winning streak with back to back unanimous decision wins over Paulo Thiago and Siyar Bahadurzada, which followed back to back highlight-reel knockouts of Erick Silva and John Hathaway, the latter which was awarded ‘2014 Knockout of the Year’ by many media outlets. He appeared to be looking for the knockout in the Silva and Hathaway bouts, and he found what he wanted. Kim seemed to be making the transition from grappler to knockout artist. He last saw action at UFC Fight Night 48 nine months ago, where he took on Strikeforce veteran Tyron Woodley in the co-main event of the evening. With him, Kim took with him the confidence gained from the two knockouts and looked for a similar outcome, and that made proved to be a fatal mistake, has he was knocked out cold by Woodley very early in the first round of action. Woodley countered and connected immediately after a failed spinning back-elbow attempt by Kim, the same maneuver which he knocked out the aforementioned John Hathaway. Now following the long layoff, he is eager to bounce back into the win column. “Stun Gun” has solid boxing skills and has evolved into a talented striker, but his bread and butter is his ground game, where he displays dominant top control and effective ground and pound . He comes from a background in Judo and has a very strong base, which benefits in him having such great takedown defense. As good as he is defending takedowns, he is as good at scoring them. When the South Korean initiates a takedown and gets the fight to the mat, he positions himself well and does not get caught in submissions or leave room for reversals. His submission defense is excellent, and he does a great job of staying out of trouble, while keeping his opponent in it. Training out of Korean Top Team and with the nine month layoff in mind, I expect Kim to be well-prepared for a full three rounds of action, should this welterweight scrap see it’s way all the way to the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Gabe’s Call: Burkman by T/KO (punch, 0:42 round 1) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think there is a decent chance that Burkman catches Kim and puts his lights out, but if this fight goes all three rounds for a decision, I think more often than not, it will be a close call. Bottom line, I think the value here is with the underdog, who I was planning on making a bigger play on, but opted to keep it smaller because Kim’s size advantage at the weigh-ins was bigger than I expected. I was originally intending on making this a 4u play, and while I don’t like the play quite as much as I did earlier, I still see enough value in it to pull the trigger for 2.3u. Gabe’s Recommended Parlays: Burkman (+235) 2.3u to win 5.4u
