UFC Fight Night ‘Bigfoot vs. Arlovski 2’ Preview

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Bantamweights

Iuri Alcantara (30-5, 5-2 UFC) vs. Russell Doane (14-3, 2-0 UFC)

The Matchup: Commentators were puzzled when the relatively unknown Doane got the call to face established top-10 bantamweight Alcantara. However, it is less confusing when we take into account the lack of depth in the division, Doane’s two-fight winning streak and the fact that, with six years of experience under his belt, he is less a prospect than a fighter who should be prepared to take the next step.

Doane’s game is based on transitions, which builds on his outstanding speed and athleticism. He excels at using strikes to set up his quick takedowns, delivers relentless offense against opponents trying to take him down and scrambles beautifully on the ground. The Hawaiian’s striking is a work in progress, and while he has a ways to go defensively and in terms of generating consistent output, he shows some promise with hard punching combinations.

Doane’s shot is technical and ultra-fast, and he times his attempts well, especially as his opponent plants his feet to throw. On the ground, Doane scrambles nicely but also maintains a heavy base to throw powerful ground strikes and has a nose for positional advancements and opportunistic submissions. Well-rounded and dangerous, Doane’s time is now to stake a claim as a top bantamweight.

While Alcantara has dominated the lower echelons of the bantamweight division, he has had less success against the elite. His game is well-rounded, but Alcantara lacks an elite skill set or the athleticism to make him a truly exceptional fighter. At range, “Marajo” throws powerful, looping shots and excels when he plants his feet and counters, but he could stand to throw more volume and he is fairly hittable. Defensive wrestling has been a consistent problem -- he conceded four takedowns to Urijah Faber, three to Wilson Reis and five to Hacran Dias at featherweight -- but his takedowns are excellent, consisting mostly of trips and slick hip tosses. While his guard is not particularly dangerous, Alcantara is active and constantly looks for sweeps. From top position, he possesses a nice mixture of powerful ground strikes, slick guard passes and the occasional submission.

Betting Odds: N/A

The Pick: I cannot help but think Doane is being underrated here. He is perfectly capable of putting Alcantara on his back and can hang with him on the feet, and the Hawaiian is a good-enough grappler to give “Marajo” fits. With that said, Alcantara has vast reservoirs of experience and is slightly more technically sound in the scrambles, which makes me think he can snag a dominant position and then a submission. I would not be surprised if Doane took a decision, but the pick is Alcantara by submission in the second round.

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