BETTING ODDS: Grad (-200); Buzukja (+170)
Buzukja will attempt snap a two-fight skid and improve on his 1-4
overall mark in the UFC against Romanian-born Austrian Grad (1-2
UFC), and either fighter would love to disprove the notion that
second chances on
Dana White’s Contender Series rarely yield a UFC-level
fighter.
Buzukja has always been a game and entertaining fighter, and was a
reliable winner in Northeast regional promotions before and after
his two appearances on the Contender Series, but in the UFC he has
simply been overmatched. It will remain to be seen whether his move
from Serra-Longo MMA to the The Goat Shed improves his fortunes,
but it seems unlikely, simply because most of his problems are due
not to skill but to physicality and approach, both of which are
extremely hard to change in mid-career.
Buzukja is not a great athlete, with conspicuously slow hands and
feet by the standards of the division, but compensates as best he
can with high-volume boxing and pressure. He is not much of an
offensive wrestler, and his already iffy defensive wrestling is
short-circuited by the fact that he willingly goes to the ground.
He is a good grappler, but not the kind of wizard who can grab a
guillotine, jump to guard and expect a good result.
Ultimately, Buzukja’s approach, in order to win fights in the UFC,
would require a kind of defensive savvy and/or durability that he
simply has not demonstrated. He usually has good moments in his
fights, but ends up falling victim to whatever his opponent does
best.
What Grad does best is “a little bit of everything,” so it will
remain to be seen what that does for Buzukja’s chances. Much of the
scouting report on the 30-year-old Austrian is similar to Buzukja,
but at a higher level.
If there were a Central Casting for MMA fighters, Grad is what you
might get if you called up and asked for “a scrappy Continental
Europe overachiever.” neither particularly big nor a standout
athlete for the division but has carved out a very respectable
record with balanced offensive skills, aggression and pressure. The
appropriately nicknamed “Unleashed” comes forward, uncorking a
basic repertoire of kickboxing combinations with good power, which
he achieves in part by tending to overswing on things.
Grad has come up short in his last two fights, but Luke Riley
and Muhammadjon
Naimov are both very solid UFC featherweights, and they brought
a level of speed and power in the case of Riley, and grinding
physicality in the case of Naimov, that Buzukja simply does not
possess. The pick is that Grad dominates this fight from the jump,
and given that Buzukja’s physical durability can no longer keep up
with his mental grit, the judges will not be needed. Grad by Round
2 TKO.
Jump To »
Klein vs. Musayev
Elliott vs. Oliveira
Nikolic vs. Vologdin
Buzukja vs. Grad
Rebecki vs. Prepolec
Milosevic vs. Cowan
Leka vs. Poppeck
Spasic vs. Luciano
