Preview: UFC Vegas 107 ‘Blanchfield vs. Barber’

Welterweights

Billy Goff (9-3, 1-1 UFC) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (11-5, 3-3 UFC)

ODDS: Goff (-340), Brahimaj (+270)

With each of their opponents dropping out on late notice, Brahimaj and Goff square off in a solid pairing. Excitement is the name of the game for Goff, who is about as pure a brawler as exists in the UFC nowadays. That approach has worked surprisingly well through two UFC fights. Goff ate a ton of damage to score a knockout of Yusaku Kinoshita in his UFC debut, then at least did well to hang tough for three rounds in a decision loss to Trey Waters. Goff’s wildman approach has both a clear ceiling and a high floor when it comes to testing out the bottom reaches of the UFC roster, and it will be interesting to see how Brahimaj handles it.

Brahimaj hasn’t gained much momentum—mostly due to injuries—in nearly half a decade on the UFC roster, but he has had his bright spots, particularly as a wrestler and a grappler. Most of his success has depended on his ability to establish those threats early and find a quick submission, with Brahimaj typically coasting to a loss when he’s unable to outwrestle his opponent early. That made his last result, a first-round knockout of Mickey Gall, a pleasant surprise that raised some hope Brahimaj might have turned a corner. Brahimaj could just grind his way to a win—or even become the first man to knock out the former CES MMA champion—but the read is that Goff can do his usual thing of surviving against the odds and applying pressure until a finish presents itself. The pick is Goff via second-round knockout.

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Blanchfield vs. Barber
Gamrot vs. Klein
Goff vs. Brahimaj
Jacoby vs. Lopes
Reese vs. Todorovic
The Prelims