How will RDA vs Pettis go down?

[ArtemV]

RDA has a pretty aggressive straight forward muay thai attack, powerful leg kicks and a right hand. He has not bad wrestling, but tries to muscle it a lot, against Diaz he showed a heavy top game (taking in Diaz' lack of being prepared).

But, unfortunately for Dos Anjos, I don't see anything that he excels in that Pettis doesn't, he is well rounded, but so is Pettis, but he has a big advantage in striking and his bottom game has improved a lot, so has his wrestling defence.

Then there is the striking defence and footwork...

Who do you think takes this? What round and what finish/decision?

I think Pettis will take it by a head kick in the second round. I honestly don't see RDA giving Pettis too much problems, but Khabib will be back soon!

 

[joeyjoejoe]

Someone is going to get knocked down and strangled. Pettis should win but RDA is in his prime.

 

[Ziegmund]

Khabib by decision over RDA for the interim belt.

 

[NoContest]

Pettis seems to be the better fighter but RDA had a perfect gameplan against Diaz, maybe he and his coaches can figure out Pettis's weakness

 

[doomy200]

Should be very competitive

 

[callofdutyNBA]

I like both guys but,

Pettis is gonna ko him if RDA decides to stand & trade.

 

[Hendo101]

Pettis will kickbox the shit out of RDA until Pettis decides to take it to the ground or finish it standing.

 

[wellsdj1]

RDA wins by Pettis not showing up to the fight .

 

[fleshcross]

Khabib by decision over RDA for the interim belt.

And here's your answer.

 

[ironfist05]

The key to beating Pettis (now that his ground game has improved to the point that prolonged periods of time on the ground seems to lead to high sub potential) is to mix it up constantly and aggressively. Strike with him for a little, probably just fundamentals stuff like basic boxing and leg kicks, then when he gets comfortable standing, take him down (catch a kick if you can), but don't stay in his guard too long. Throw in wall n' stall and brief intermissions of close range boxing or clinch muay thai.

 

[ArtemV]

Khabib by decision over RDA for the interim belt.

Isn't that out of the question, unfortunately.

 

[RowdyP4PGOAT]

Pettis by violence

 

[olimpicus]

Pettis by body kick

 

[N8dogg]

Pettis by KO... Both cancel each other out on the ground...

 

[Billthebutcher2]

RDA is great at mixing it up, so he has a shot if he keeps Pettis guessing. It should be competitive, but Pettis should also win this too. I could see RDA keeping it close, if not winning, then at some point Pettis gets one of his patented split second lethal finishes.

 

[Khabib Fan]

RDA looks like he found a riddum that others aren't going to be able to keep up with. Maybe not even the post-knee injury Khabib.

 

[dan280zx]

pettis by armbar

 

[JonSnitchPhones]

It will likely go down with RDA going down, one way or another.

RDA is a threat though, more so than Khabib (who I don't view as much of one actually) because he is well-rounded and thus unpredictable.

Melendez was semi well-rounded, but too one dimensional in the striking and not overly powerful, so Pettis was at some ease, knew what to look for after some early research, and eventually capitalized.

RDA has more of an element of surprise with his striking due to kicks and knees, and then his td game off that with a distance shot.

I think Pettis could get into more trouble here if he doesn't take the center of the cage, and allows RDA to come forward, which his strength. Tibau and Dunham backed him up and had disproportionate success. Bendo got flying kneed up against the cage and hit with an overhand right. High got ko'ed up against the cage. If Pettis gets hit with those punches up against the cage like he did against Melendez, they aren't going to feel as good. And if he circles up against the cage with RDA already in range, he could be kicked to the leg, while he's not in as much position to fire off his patented and powerful kicks himself.

Pettis should approach this more like the Cerrone fight. Feint in, come back out, then throw on the counter, or if he's pushed RDA back fire kicks from toe to head. A few kicks and/or counter punches against RDA should do it. He's not the most durable guy. Even after the titanium jaw, Tibau hurt him multiple times, and his ko rate is among the worst in the UFC. Regardless if RDA reads the situation well and takes Pettis down with a counter shot in the center of the cage, it's better than being at risk of getting put out at any moment himself, and he could potentially finish from the bottom, or w/ his slick sweep game and sub threat could just get up soon afterward for more cracks at RDA w/ the striking. Of course he could have gotten up many times against Guida, but his decision making was clouded from it being his octagon debut. That's the anomaly. Normally he's one of the smartest fighters in the game. And that's why I think he'll adapt his approach in this fight to be highly likely to win. Although he probably shouldn't use the first few minutes for research like he often does because RDA is a fast starter.