A very international affair makes up the second fight of the main card at UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva. Soa Palelei, fighting out of Perth, Australia, takes on Ruan Potts, who is making his UFC debut fighting out of Cape Town, South Africa. Palelei was last seen bouncing Pat Barry out of the UFC last December, his second win in the UFC.
Fighter Summary
Soa Palelei (20-3 overall, 2-0 UFC)
Strengths: Punching power
Weaknesses: Not the most diversified skillset
Ruan Potts (8-1 overall, 0-0 UFC)
Strengths: Submissions, striking power
Weaknesses: Lack of big time experience
Fight Breakdown – Palelei is a wrecking ball, point blank period. Take a look at his last ten fights. A lot of unknowns in small organizations, but every single one he finished by KO or TKO by punches. The last guy to beat him? Daniel Cormier. Palelei packs a wallop and he punches guys out, whether in the first, second or third round.
What he’s going to do is no secret. He’s going to come out swinging for the fences Potts has to do everything he can to stay out of the punching paths of Palelei. Either coming in, clinching and fighting chest to chest, or taking Palelei down, he has to close the gap or keep well away. It will only be a matter of time before Palelei connects with something and stuns Potts, or floors him right out.
Potts is a well-rounded fighter and he’s finished every fight he’s won, only losing one decision which went five rounds. That’s a good sign for him, since Palelei has never gone to the fifth round. Potts has crafty submissions and if he could catch Palelei off guard early, that would be the ideal way to victory. It’s going to be his first fight in the UFC and Palelei is a huge test and a very dangerous one. It’s obvious what Palelei’s strengths are and what he wants to do. Making this a stand up war will almost certainly lead to a finish for Palelei, so Potts should try and sell out for a submission in the first round, when both guys are still dry and submissions would be easier.
Chopping away at Palelei over the course of the fight may work, but in order to do that, Potts will have to absorb a lot of damage as well, and if you look at Palelei’s body of work…that doesn’t seem like a very effective game plan. The idea of tangling with Palelei in the stand up just isn’t smart. Potts will want to take Palelei out of his comfort zone and either make this thing ugly on the inside, or try to school him from the outside.
Key to Victory: Can Potts survive the onslaught?
Palelei is a beast and clearly has fearsome punching power. Potts has to be wary of him, but he can’t fight with too much hesitancy. He’ll have to be able to shake off some shots, but Palelei is going to land at some point. If he can stay afloat and avoid the bulk of Palelei’s attacks, he might have a chance to dance around and pick Palelei apart from a distance. Getting caught in the barrage will mean a quick ending, but if Potts can fight smart and hang tough, he’ll have his chances.
Why It Matters – It’s Potts’ UFC debut. There is a ton of pressure on guys to perform well and win in their debuts. They made it to the big show, and it’s imperative to get off on the right foot. Potts has an 8-1 record outside of the UFC, which doesn’t mean a whole lot in the UFC until he starts winning in the Octagon. But when fighters with records like that win a couple in the UFC, especially impressively, then they skyrocket up the ladder and move quickly towards title contention.
Palelei is on a 10 fight, TKO-by-punches win streak and he’s 2-0 in the UFC now. He’s 36 years old and he ain’t getting any younger. He’s fought quality opponents in his two Octagon matches, so serving to welcome Potts to the UFC is a bit of a strange matchup, but if Palelei is going to make any kind of noise in the UFC’s heavyweight division, he has to get through Potts. That would make him 3-0 and combined with his very entertaining style, that would probably be enough to get him an opponent of notice. Palelei is a huge test for Potts and at this point in their careers, it might be just a bit too much for him.
Prediction – Palelei
