Preview: UFC Fight Night 226 ‘Gane vs. Spivak’

Featherweights

William Gomis (12-2, 2-0 UFC) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (12-1, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Gomis (-220) vs. Ghemmouri (+180)

Gomis figures to hit a ceiling at some point, but the Frenchman is an interesting prospect to track in the meantime. A quick athlete, “Jaguar” tends to fight between one of two ideas, either flitting around at range with his strikes or attempting to grind out a win with some work in the clinch. Gomis has been able to lean on both thus far in his two UFC fights, using the latter idea to beat Jarno Errens and the former to stay ahead of Francis Marshall, but it remains to be seen what happens to him when he is denied a safety valve. Lucas Almeida figured to be an interesting test, but after a late shuffle, Gomis instead draws Ghemmouri, a natural bantamweight who steps up in weight on late notice. A striker by trade, Ghemmouri actually has more finishes via submission than knockout, which makes a bit more sense watching him on film. While “The Desert Warrior” has some solid striking, he fights with a methodical style that does not force the issue much on the feet. Add in some effective grappling, and Ghemmouri should find some success going forward, but this feels like a tough ask against an opponent who has a size and speed advantage, along with the ability to leverage them. The pick is Gomis via decision.

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Gane vs. Spivak
Fiorot vs. Namajunas
St. Denis vs. Moises
Oezdemir vs. Guskov
Gomis vs. Ghemmouri
The Prelims