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UFC 218 main-card breakdown: Cejudo-Pettis, Alvarez-Gaethje and Torres-Waterson

MMAjunkie Radio cohost and MMAjunkie contributor Dan Tom provides an in-depth breakdown of all of UFC 218’s main-card bouts. Today, we look at the first three pay-per-view bouts.

UFC 218 takes place Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The main card airs on PPV following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

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Henry Cejudo (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC)

Henry Cejudo

Staple info:

  • Height: 5’4″ Age: 30 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 64″
  • Last fight: TKO win over Wilson Reis (Sept. 9, 2017)
  • Camp: Fight Ready MMA (Arizona)
  • Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
  • Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
+ Olympic wrestling gold medalist (U.S.)
+ Multiple wrestling accolades
+ Bronze Gloves boxing champion
+ 4 KO victories
+ 1 submission win
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ Solid footwork
+ Improved overall striking
^ Offensively and off of the counter
+ Hard kicks and knees
+ Strong clinch game
^ Solid grips/hand-fighting
+ Excellent wrestling ability
^ 100 percent takedown defense rate

Sergio Pettis (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC)

Sergio Pettis

Staple info:

  • Height: 5’6″ Age: 25 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 69″
  • Last fight: Decision win over Brandon Moreno (Aug. 5, 2017)
  • Camp: Roufusport (Milwaukee, WI)
  • Stance/striking style: Switch-stance/kickboxing
  • Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
+ RFA flyweight title
+ Taekwondo black belt (2nd degree)
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt
+ 3 KO victories
+ 3 submission wins
+ 5 first-round finishes
+ Excellent footwork
+ Accurate jab and cross
^ Pulls and returns well
+ Dangerous head kicks
^ Strikes well off of the breaks
+ Improved wrestling ability
^ Good hips and wrist controls
+ Accurate and attacking guard

Summary:

In a fight of importance at flyweight, Henry Cejudo take on Sergio Pettis.

Cejudo, one of the most decorated wrestlers to step foot into the cage, is still looking to score championship glory in MMA. Coming off an impressive win over recent title challenger Wilson Reis, Cejudo will seek to state his case for a second chance at the belt.

Brother to former UFC champ Anthony Pettis, Sergio is paving a path of his own, and he too would like to capture UFC gold. And if Pettis means to get himself into the conversation at 125 pounds, he will first need to make good on the main-stage against the dangerous contender that is before him.

Coming from a traditional taekwondo base, Pettis has arguably done a better job than his brother in regards to translating this style to the cage. Although Pettis is not as flashy as his brother (nor does he have the highlight reel to compare), there is an economical flow to the way in which he mixes his punches and kicks, and he also works at a much more consistent pace.

Not only does Pettis work in his kicking attacks seamlessly, but his point-fighting style of footwork has complemented his boxing nicely, utilizing his heightened sense of range to fuel his pulls and returns. Still, despite having accurate jab-cross continuums he works well from, Pettis will need to respect the power that Cejudo will be firing back at him.

Consistently demonstrating a stick-and-move curriculum, the former freestyle wrestler displays a surprising fluidity, seldom throwing himself out of position. Favoring cross-hook combinations, he often punctuates his presence with hard kicks to the body.

Recently, we have seen Cejudo only improve. In his bout against Joseph Benavidez last year, the Olympic champion displayed an upgraded muay Thai arsenal from his time spent at CSA in Northern California.

When watching him against Reis a few months ago, Cejudo took things to a different level, coming out in a sharp karate stance that he picked up while working with the Pitbull brothers (Bellator’s Patricio and Patricky) in Brazil. Showing off an improved sense of range, Cejudo was able to time and counter his opponent precisely with palpable speed and power.

Regardless of Cejudo’s confidence in his striking, it is inside the clinch where he is most comfortable, and I will be interested to see how much he forces the issue in this fight.

Utilizing fundamental hand-fighting, Cejudo will subtly stifle his opponent’s offense inside as he delivers a healthy dose of hard knees whenever in close. When able to establish a body lock, the former freestyle wrestler is quick to hit his inside trips.

That said, Pettis can be difficult to pin down due to his footwork and spatial awareness of when to leave and when to stay.

Demonstrating good posture to go along with a consistent hand-fighting and underhook awareness of his own, I think that Pettis could surprise Cejudo if he stays disciplined in defense.

Working with Izzy Martinez for his past few camps, we have seen steady improvements to Pettis’ wrestling, especially in the transitional phases of his grappling.

Already possessing crafty leg dexterity and wrist controls, Pettis now shows more process and understanding to his actions, and he was able to successfully navigate out of some tight spots in his last couple of outings. Should these two end up exchanging inside of grappling stanzas, I will be intrigued to see how each fighter has progressed.

The oddsmakers and public feel pretty confident in the former Olympian, currently listing Cejudo -280 and Pettis +240 as of this writing.

As someone who felt good about Pettis’ chances when the matchup was attempted the first time around – my opinion has admittedly changed since, primarily off of the strength of Cejudo’s last performance.

Don’t get me wrong: This is a winnable fighter for Pettis, who I could see sneaking his savvy kicking attacks over or under the shoulders of Cejudo. And if younger Pettis brother had five rounds to work within, then perhaps he could pull away on the scorecards.

But ultimately, I see Cejudo landing the more meaningful blows and likely hitting opportunistic takedowns along the way to a competitive but clear decision.

Official pick: Cejudo by decision

Filed under: Featured, News, UFC

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