UFC 198 predictions

A celebration of all things Brazilian MMA takes place on Saturday as the UFC visits Curitiba, Brazil for a showcase of what Latin America’s largest country has to offer. The card features a heavyweight title fight plus the UFC debut of Cyborg and more.

What: UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic

Where: Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, Brazil

When: Saturday, the three-fight Fight Pass preliminary card starts at 6:30 p.m. ET, the four-fight Fox Sports 1 preliminary card starts at 8 p.m. and the five-fight pay-per-view card kicks off at 10 p.m. ET.

Fabricio Werdum vs.Stipe Miocic

For me, the difference between these two excellent fighters is two-fold. First, Werdum has more ways to win. From his devastating clinch attacks to his unreal guard to even his ability to strike at range, the Brazilian has more weapons. Notably, Miocic has fewer of them, but also different capabilities. His short-range boxing talents far surpass Werdum’s. Taking inventory on the whole, however, Werdum simply has more options at his disposal.

Second, Miocic is willing to take more risks. That can often be a good thing, but against a fighter who doesn’t do that and, in fact, has become quite good at avoiding bad predicaments through both better defensive fundamentals and other forms of retreat, I’m not so sure it’ll work. Simply put, Werdum is hard to hurt. Even if you nail him with a tremendous shot, most want no part of his guard, leaving them with limited choices. This is all assuming, of course, that he can be drilled. His mastery of range has improved. So, you’re faced with a fighter who has become increasingly difficult to tag cleanly with one who has more offensive options when he …

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