BETTING ODDS: McGhee (-500); Yannis (+375)
In yet another UFC Vegas 118 bout affected by a late lineup change,
McGhee (10-2; 4-1 UFC) takes on Yannis (10-4; 1-1 UFC), who steps
up for the injured Jakub
Wiklacz. McGhee, frankly, has been shockingly good since
joining the UFC three years ago. “The Maniac” initially presented
in the Octagon with the face of a grizzled veteran but the record
of a prospect, as he was already already 32 (and looked 42 in the
wrong lighting) yet had just seven professional bouts under his
belt.
McGhee has exceeded expectations in just about every way, winning
his first four fights in dominant fashion before running into
former (and future) bantamweight champ Petr Yan last
July, where he was competitive in a decision loss. Despite his
weathered look, McGhee is a spry, fluid and athletic bantamweight
who throws a nice variety of kickboxing combinations with accuracy
and power. His list of UFC victims includes Jonathan
Martinez, himself one of the better strikers in the division,
and he was not out of his depth against Yan, arguably the best
striker in the division period.
Yannis picked up his first UFC win in April, thrashing Jamie Siraj
at UFC Winnipeg. It was a nice bounceback from his brutal debut,
where he served as a late-notice sacrifice for once-beaten phenom
Austin
Bashi. The 31-year-old from Texas appears to have limited
upside—he is a solid boxer with good power but has historically
struggled with defensive wrestling and grappling—but there are some
bantamweights in the UFC he would have a decent chance of beating,
as long as he presses his advantages and avoids his weaknesses.
That makes the Siraj win especially encouraging, because Yannis
showed the fight IQ and presence of mind to keep the fight in his
wheelhouse. Not only did he stuff all of Siraj’s takedown attempts
with ease, but when he hurt the Canadian, he refused to follow him
to the ground, and once the referee stood Siraj back up, the finish
was not long in coming.
Having said that, McGhee is not one of the bantamweights to whom
Yannis is likely to give problems. Where Yannis is good on the
feet, McGhee is better, and McGhee can also probably take him down
if he wants, which means he has a safety valve should Yannis land a
good punch. It’s hard to envision a path to victory for the Texan,
while McGhee has several. On the preview show, I picked McGhee by
knockout, while my co-host Keith predicted that he would take the
path of lesser resistance, taking him down and exploiting his
grappling defense, but in either case, the call is for a
first-round finish.
Jump To »
Schnell vs. Costa
McGhee vs. Yannis
Silva vs. Chairez
Cachoeira vs. Chandler
Leavitt vs. Brito
Chaves vs. Duben
Souza vs. Carnelossi
