Preview: UFC Fight Night 206 Prelims

Lightweights

Omar Morales (11-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. Uros Medic (7-1, 1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Morales (-150), Medic (+130)

Lanky lightweights square off in this interesting pairing. At 36 years old and five fights into his UFC career, Morales looks to have settled into becoming a solid—if sometimes uninspiring—fighter. As a prospect, the Venezuelan used his size and reach to isolate himself and dictate the terms of his fights, and that is still where Morales has been at his most comfortable. That was the story of his first four UFC bouts. Splitting time between featherweight and lightweight, Morales was able to win three relatively slow-paced kickboxing matches and do well in a fourth against Giga Chikadze. However, Morales has never shown much of a second gear—something that came to the forefront against Jonathan Pearce in September. A similarly long fighter, Pearce banked on constant aggression to swamp Morales and take things out of his comfort zone, eventually scoring a second-round submission. That also makes for some intrigue against Medic, another long opponent in Morales’ return to lightweight. Born in Serbia, Medic made it to the UFC by running through the Alaskan scene, overwhelming a low level of competition in some messy affairs. However, he looked like a much-improved fighter under Zuffa auspices, showing a much smoother striking approach in Dana White’s Contender Series bout against Mikey Gonzalez and UFC debut against Aalon Cruz, each resulting in a win via first-round knockout. Then “The Doctor” got matched against his best opponent to date in Jalin Turner—another large lightweight—and looked outclassed, with Turner pressing an early advantage and finishing the fight on the mat. Morales is unlikely to show the same level of initiative as Turner, which makes this a difficult fight to call. There is a lot to like about Medic, but with Morales being historically durable, it is unclear how long he can keep up a pace, as none of his fights have lasted past six minutes. Given Medic’s unproven standing, this is essentially a pick against him by default over 15 minutes, though there is at least the logic that Morales might be able to press a wrestling or grappling advantage if the fight makes it to that phase. The pick is Morales via decision.

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