Preview: UFC Fight Night 185 Prelims

IT'S OVER!!@juicyj_erosa steps in on short notice and a BIG finish! pic.twitter.com/HAOKZoF5K9

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) June 28, 2020

Featherweight

NR | Julian Erosa (24-8, 2-4 UFC) vs. NR | Nate Landwehr (14-3, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Erosa (-115), Landwehr (-105)

This should be a war. It was nice to see Erosa step in on late notice and score an upset over Sean Woodson in June, given all the struggles that “Juicy J” had gone through during his UFC career. Erosa looked like a solid prospect coming off Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and earning a subsequent win over castmate Marcin Wrzosek, but he has spent the last few years as a Quadruple-A fighter who could succeed on the regional scene but consistently fell short inside the Octagon. Erosa likes to combine aggression and defensive slickness, but the issue within the UFC has always been the latter. Erosa has even had some early success in fights, but the harder hitters on the UFC roster would typically wind up finding his chin at some point. In the Woodson fight, it was much the opposite, as the reedy prospect had success keeping the Xtreme Couture rep at bay until Erosa managed to turn things around and make him wilt under pressure. Somewhat refreshingly, the UFC opted against putting Erosa back on gatekeeper duty here, as he takes on a fellow violence veteran in Landwehr. Tennessee’s Landwehr made his name in Russia as an antidote to the control-heavy wrestlers the region has to offer. “The Train” got by on scrambling and trying to get to his feet as often as possible, which usually succeeded in wearing out his opponents and leaving them open for a late finish. The margins have been a bit thinner in the UFC, but the results have still been exciting. Landwehr may have charged directly into a knockout from Herbert Burns in his UFC debut, but he followed it with a bloody war against Darren Elkins in May. This is the type of fight where three rounds of violence should help raise the stock of both men, regardless of the result, but Landwehr seems to be the more reliant on his opponent slowing down after a hot start. That approach may not work against Erosa. The pick is Erosa via decision.

Continue Reading » O’Neill vs. Dobson