OHHHH! @SmileNSam floors Prachnio in round 1! #UFCOrlando pic.twitter.com/htDqFYyrxX
— UFC (@ufc) February 24, 2018
Light Heavyweights
Sam Alvey (33-10) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (22-8)Advertisement
You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Nogueira is still active at age 42, even though his last fight was a main event against Ryan Bader; Nogueira’s been relatively inactive for the last few years and an issue with tainted supplements has kept him out of action since late 2016. Even though he’s physically overmatched by the divisional elite at this point, Nogueira still has enough skill to stay relevant on a roster as thin as the UFC’s light heavyweights; he still has his highly-touted boxing skill as well as the grappling pedigree that comes with that Nogueira name. But again, Nogueira’s 42 years old, so the end is probably coming sooner rather than later and this fight against Sam Alvey will be a big test to see exactly what “Minotoro” has left in the tank.
Alvey is a notable personality if nothing else; the big ginger walks out to the dulcet tones of Train, eternally grinning, with his often-pregnant wife-slash-cornerwoman in tow. And his fighting style stands out almost as much as his persona, due to an amazing commitment to counterattacking. Alvey doesn’t have much in terms of weapons, just standing upright and waiting for his opponent to give him an opportunity to throw his huge right hand and earn the knockout. It works against a surprising amount of competition, and due to his willingness to take whatever fight is available, it’s led to some winning streaks in shockingly quick fashion. However, when Alvey’s style doesn’t get going, he’s among the worst fighters to watch in the UFC, as his bouts simply devolve into staring contests, with Alvey’s refusal to lead combined with his power scaring off his opponents mixing like oil and water. At any rate, Alvey’s now two-for-two in terms of success since moving up to 205, even if his fights mostly play out the same; he knocked out Marcin Prachnio in brutal fashion only to follow that up with an interminable decision win over Gian Villante.
For all the flaws in Alvey’s style, it at least makes his fights easy to break down; either he’ll score the knockout or his fight will be fifteen minutes of nothing happening. Nogueira’s won his share of terrible low-output fights before, and he might be defensively sound enough to neutralize Alvey for 15 minutes, but he’s slowed down so greatly that I imagine he has to give Alvey an opening to clock him at some point over the course of three rounds. It’ll be a slog until it’s over, but the pick is Alvey by second-round knockout.
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