Another solid fight has been added to UFC Fight Night 74, which goes down August 23 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. This time it’s a lightweight bout between top two prospects, Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier and American Chris Wade. Both fighters are amongst the hottest prospects in the UFC’s lightweight division and the winner of this fight will no doubt be deserving of a serious step up in competition their next time out. OAM is so far 2-1 in the UFC with stoppage wins over David Michaud and Jake Lindsey as well as a decision loss to Chad Laprise in the TUF Nations welterweight finale. He has looked fantastic since dropping down to 155lbs, and with his tight grappling game to go along with improved striking, the popular 26-year-old Quebecer is destined for big things in the Octagon. But first, OAM must get through Wade, who has quietly emerged as a top prospect himself. The 27-year-old American is 3-0 in the UFC with a submission win over Cain Carrizosa and decision wins over Zhang Lipeng and Christos Giagos. He is a very good wrestler with submission skills but he has not shown good striking in the UFC. He trains with some talented fighters at Long Island MMA so I expect him to show up improved for this fight, making for a compelling matchup against another top young talent in OAM. This is a good fight, and not an easy one to call. I think most people will lean towards OAM in this fight and overall I do think he should be the favorite, but Wade has been really impressive in my opinion and I expect him to put up a tough fight. I don’t think OAM is going to be able to get the submission like he usually does, although if that does happen it would be quite a feat considering Wade has not been stopped in his career. Conversely for Wade, a stoppage win over OAM, who has only lost to Laprise via decision in his career, would be huge for him going forward. Along with OAM vs. Wade, UFC Fight Night 74 also features some other terrific matchups such as the main event between featherweights Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira and the co-main event between welterweights Rick Story and Erick Silva. It’s going to be a very fun card, and fight fans in Canada’s prairies should be excited about this Fight Night event the UFC is bringing them later this summer.
