MMAOddsBreaker’s Frank Trigg speaks with UFC 183 middleweight Tom Watson about his upcoming preliminary card bout this Saturday night (Jan. 31, 2015) against Rafael Natal at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The veteran striker out of the UK has faced a ton of really durable fighters in his UFC career thus far, and he’s excited for the potential of a fight against someone with a less sturdy chin:
‘Natal to me, is the first guy I’ve actually fought that’s been finished in fights. Tavares got finished by Tim Boetsch in Maine, but hadn’t been knocked out when he fought me. Sam Alvey had never been knocked out, Thales Leites had never been knocked out. These guys, Nedkov had never been knocked out, I felt like UFC was matching me against guys who were tough that loved to stand and bang and put good fights on. It’s a big difference when you fight a guy who’s been knocked out three or four times. That for me, could be a key in this fight. He has great jiu-jitsu. From watching his fights, he’s not super dangerous with his jiu-jitsu, but he has more control. He’s more about frustrating his opponents with his movements. I just think this is a big difference with someone who doesn’t have a great chin compared to everyone else I’ve fought in the UFC.”