Curious why you like Cutelaba.
I feel like one way or another he's going to do something dumb and get submitted
I have been eyeing Cutelaba in this one. At +120 he's worth looking into IMO. Grego-roman wrestling/Combat sambo background "should" help him out avoiding the takedowns. I still need to watch some tape, but I think that Cutelaba can avoid takedowns from the fence. This is a perfect hedge opportunity if you ask me. Anti SUB/Cutelaba TKO/KO/Cutelaba ML. Anti will gas in later rounds, should it get there, even more if he can't take Cutelaba down in the 1st. I still have some tape to watch, and im not sure if the line will close in or stay where it currently is.
Moronos biggest flaw is his improper breathing technique, breathing both in and out through his mouth. Something that's very hard to correct as it's subconscious. That combined with his constant hopping around and full power shots sees him gas pretty quick. Mein's leg kicks could add up quick too on a TKD guy that tries to be extremely light on his feet. I favour Mein but can't trust either guy, will be looking to lb Mein.
Solid point. Im very interested in playing Mein, and him being a underdog now, is a must play IMO. Morono usually avoids the ground since he love to strike, which won't help him in this one. He has a solid 1-2 combo that usually ends with a left hook if he's in the pocket. Showed some solid legkicks vs. Price as well. He showed a very active "feeling jab" vs. Nakamura in the 1st, but didn't use it all through the fight. Furthermore he got caught against the fence vs. Price and was willing to bang the last 10 seconds of R2, which ended with a Price KO. If Mein can cut Morono off, he will have the same chance of stopping him against the cage. This opens up for Meins hellbows as well. Nakamura had good success with bodykicks where Morono showed some weaknesses. Bodyshots is something that Mein utilizes really well. This will probably end up being a striking match, and with all the arguments above, I have to go with Mein even though he hasn't showed alot of motivation. If Nakamura was winning a striking battle against Morono, I don't see why Mein can't. Mein has fought much better competition as well.
I will probably put down a bigger bet on Mein ML @ +110
I would love to hear some arguments for Morono being a favorite here.
What does Ross Pearson have to offer vs Makdessi? Makdessi's TDD is gonna make it a striking match. Don't see Ross consistently outboxing him to a decision and Makdessi ate Cerrones headkicks till his jaw was smashed so a finish is doubtful at best. At -150 seems an easy choice to make.
Makdessi has awesome TDD. This will be a striking matchup for sure. Pearson could have some succes, but Makdessi has a great chin, solid footwork, good fight IQ, good awareness and a really good jab that mess up Pearsons ability to setup his combinations. Makdessi has 5.17 strikes landed/min, 3.75 absorbed/min and 71% defense. Pearson has 3.59 strikes landed/min, 3.80 absorbed/min and 63% defense.
I think that Makdessi will be the more busy fighter, landing more often than Pearson in a kickboxing matchup. Makdessi ML @ -150 is a really solid bet IMO.