Heavyweights
BETTING ODDS: Pinto (-900); Franco (+600)
Pinto (11-0; 2-0 UFC) will need to get past Franco (10-1; 0-0 UFC),
who steps up on a month’s notice for the injured Mick
Parkin, in order to keep his professional record spotless. The
28-year-old fighting out of Lisbon is still learning his trade, but
he is a rare specimen, physically: a massive heavyweight with a
huge wingspan, fluid athleticism and big power. Thus far in his
career he has faced little adversity, but that is to his credit, as
he has already developed some decent defensive fundamentals and the
ability to follow a game plan. There’s no telling where he will top
out in terms of actual in-cage achievement, but his raw physical
tools and cerebral approach are reminiscent of early Ciryl Gane
or even prime Alistair
Overeem. In his most recent outing against Jhonata
Diniz, a legitimate UFC talent and recent fringe contender,
Pinto likely could have held his own in the expected striking
contest, but instead scored easy takedowns, then hammered and
harassed Diniz en route to a second-round TKO via ground
strikes.
It is probably an indication of how scary Pinto is that after
Parkin withdrew from their fight on Feb. 3, it took the UFC three
weeks to come up with…a light heavyweight who got tapped out on the
Contender Series. That’s a bit of an unfair characterization, as
Franco is undefeated outside of his loss to Freddy
Vidal last September and afterward did exactly what one would
hope of a once-beaten prospect, going back to Brazil and promptly
picking up a couple of dominant wins. Franco is a teammate and
training partner of Jailton
Almeida and, like “Malhadinho,” he is a big light heavyweight
with impressive physical tools who may eventually end up at
heavyweight anyway. He is very raw, having come up against badly
overmatched regional foes whom he could dispatch with ease,
throwing huge single overhands or kicks. He rarely initiates the
ground game, but his more than happy to follow a hurt foe to the
canvas, or pancake a desperation takedown, and his ground-and-pound
is terrifying. A bit like Almeida, Pinto’s striking and grappling
are both very dependent on raw strength, and as such, can drain his
gas tank badly. His loss to Vidal on the Contender Series was the
first time he had fought past the first round, and is concerning
less for the loss itself than for how exhausted he looked by the
middle of the second round.
Pinto is a massive favorite in this fight and it’s easy to
understand why. He has all the advantages in terms of physical
talent and fighting skills, and he already fights in such a
composed manner that it’s difficult to picture him making the kind
of blunder that represents Franco’s only real path to victory. Add
in that Pinto appears to have plenty of cardio to fight for three
or even five rounds, at least when he is in the driver’s seat, and
any underdog upside vanishes. The pick is Pinto by first-round
knockout, but even if that doesn’t happen, there’s no real reason
to panic.
Jump To »
Jones vs. Sola
Wood vs. Keita
Sutherland vs. Pericic
Kondratavicius vs. Trocoli
Pinto vs. Franco
Rock vs. Al-Selwady
Dyer vs. Oliveira
Mullins vs. Carolina
