Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Belfort vs. Henderson 3’

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Lightweights

Alex Oliveira (12-3-1) vs Piotr Hallmann (15-4)

THE MATCHUP: Pace is the word that defines Hallmann’s entire approach to fighting. The Polish dynamo starts at a quick pace in the first round of every fight and does not let up until the final bell sounds. He is a grinding, attritive fighter by nature, but unlike most fighters of that sort, Hallman is a prolific finisher, with seven knockouts and seven submissions to his name. Hallman’s strength on the feet is the clinch, where his deceptive power makes up for his relative lack of speed. Workmanlike combination punching combined with relentless forward pressure allows Hallman to fight his way into the pocket where he can use his natural advantages.

Hallman is not a pretty takedown artist, but he is relentless. Once attached to his opponent’s hips, he uses quick angle changes to jerk the other man off-balance until he can drag him to the canvas, running the pipe to finish a quick single-leg when the opportunity arises. On the ground, Hallman likes to sit in half guard, keeping his opponent’s legs entangled while he goes to work with short strikes. When the opponent turns into him, he looks for the back, where he has gotten six of his seven submissions via rear-naked choke.

“Cowboy” Oliveira made the switch from bull riding to professional fighting in 2011, and he has proven to be a natural. Oliveira’s grasp of the intangibles -- distance, balance, rhythm -- is quite impressive. He is unorthodox, using awkward head movement and unconventional footwork to evade and counter his opponents. This means that there are inherent vulnerabilities in Oliveira’s style, but it also makes him a difficult man for which to prepare. He is a deft counter puncher who uses combinations to attack from various angles.

Oliveira uses angles and distance to fight off takedowns, but he is not averse to grappling when he feels he has an advantage, sometimes muscling his way to a back-take in order to pursue the rear-naked choke. His size and strength allows him to hold onto advantageous positions -- or escape dangerous ones where smaller fighters would find themselves trapped. Against a serious technician, however, Oliveira’s limited grappling becomes a more glaring weakness.

THE ODDS: Oliveira (-200), Hallmann (+170)

THE PICK: Oliveira’s size is usually an immense advantage, but there are few lightweights more relentless than Hallmann, who also proved his raw strength by contending with Brazilian powerhouses like Gleison Tibau and Francisco Trinaldo. With Oliveira’s quick feet and accurate punching, Hallmann will likely eat his fair share of shots in the early going, but his pace and durability will allow him to pull ahead in the latter half of the fight. The pick is Hallmann by submission in round three.

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