Josh Reed is an all-action fighter who is a good hammer, but terrible nail. He uses his size advantage in most fights, win or lose, and he is there to be hit on the feet at all times. Seems weak when he is pushed/held against the cage. He uses good knees against short opponents who stay in mid-range and/or attempt to close the distance against him.
Some of his fights:
vs. Hazan
vs. Creighton
vs. Gittins
vs. De Paepe
Luke Shanks usually fights at 125, but is fighting at 135 for his second fight in a row.
Aggressive fighter who looks for the take down, and will wrap up your legs with his legs like Khabib, and focuses on various arm chokes. When standing, he has good leg kicks that are fast and hard, and seems to be upgrading his boxing, with his best punch being counter straights and counter hooks. He is used to fighting 5-round fights, so cardio isn't an issue for him in 3-round fights. He's from Wellingborough, which is a 2 hour drive away from Colechester, the city where this Cage Warriors card is being held, and he's facing a guy from a different country. Shanks will be the shorter guy here, but he's used to being the shorter fighter.
Some of his fights:
vs. Hignett
vs. Geropoulis
vs. Jenkins
vs. Leblond
I think Shanks will strike just enough to back Reed against the cage, then wrap up his legs and get a take down, followed by tying up his legs Khabib-style, and then working from there. I'm not confident in a finish, but Shanks should win this via grappling as long as he doesn't stand and bang for too long or eat a knee when he's coming in.
Pick: Luke Shanks -210
