BETTING ODDS: Brito (-180); Leavitt (+140)
“The Monkey King” (13-3; 6-3 UFC) looks to build on the momentum of
his successful featherweight debut, when he meets “Tubarao”
(18-5-1; 6-3 UFC) in this intriguing prelims showcase.
Leavitt, like Bryce
Mitchell, who fights on the UFC Vegas 118 main card, dropped a
weight class after mixed results in his early UFC run. In both
cases, I thought the move was a terrible one and in both cases, I
appear to have been dead wrong. Leavitt initially showed up in the
UFC as a big lightweight who was a tricky, unorthodox but very
effective submission grappler, but one of the worst strikers in the
entire promotion. Add in his middling athleticism (he’s incredibly
flexible, but not very quick) and lack of wrestling technique, and
Leavitt appeared to have a hard ceiling against any fighter who
could stay upright.
None of those issues seemed likely to be improved by moving down to
a division in which he would be at an even greater speed
disadvantage, but Leavitt looked fantastic in his featherweight
debut earlier this year here in Houston. The Syndicate MMA stalwart
defied the odds by completely thrashing Yadier Del
Valle, who was both a highly touted prospect and (supposedly) a
miserable style matchup. If Leavitt’s size and strength advantages
at 145 pounds, along with the ongoing refinement of his striking
and wrestling skills, mean that he can bring his submission chops
into play more easily, he might have a whole new lease on life at
30.
Brito is almost Leavitt’s opposite physically: visibly small for
the division, short and very quick. He is a very aggressive striker
who uses feints and footwork to navigate the distance against
longer fighters, then explodes with bursts of extremely hard
punches. He is well-rounded, using his movement and opponents’ fear
of his power to set up takedown entries, which he finishes with
technique as well as strength. On the mat, he is a very slick
grappler, relentlessly dropping short, sharp blows while looking to
advance position and eventually take either mount or back control,
where he has a good rear-naked choke.
Brito is a moderate favorite in this one, which means that if I
haven’t learned my lesson about the new featherweight Leavitt, at
least I’m not alone. The specifics of the matchup seem to point to
Brito doing what del Valle was supposed to do: avoid Leavitt’s
takedowns, beat him up on the feet and either knock him out or pile
up enough damage to win going away. Brito is much further along in
his development than del Valle, and a much harder hitter, and those
things lead me to favor the Brazilian despite Leavitt’s ongoing
improvements. My co-host Keith picked Brito to become the first
fighter to finish Leavitt with strikes, but I think his impressive
toughness comes into play here. The pick is Brito by decision.
Jump To »
Schnell vs. Costa
McGhee vs. Yannis
Silva vs. Chairez
Cachoeira vs. Chandler
Leavitt vs. Brito
Chaves vs. Duben
Souza vs. Carnelossi
