Preview: UFC on Fox 20 ‘Holm vs. Shevchenko’

Heavyweights

Francis Ngannou (7-1) vs. Bojan Mihajlovic (10-3)

THE MATCHUP: Though he arrived in the UFC with little fanfare, Ngannou has quickly established himself as one of the most promising fighters in the heavyweight division. At 29, Ngannou has plenty of time to develop, and he seems to be doing so rapidly: Ngannou was taken down repeatedly in his promotional debut, and yet, when faced with a far better wrestler in his second UFC fight, he effortlessly stuffed every takedown and let his powerful hands flow smoothly.

Mihajlovic comes to the UFC undefeated in his last 10 fights. Like many regional resumes, however, especially those at heavyweight, the one belonging to Mihajlovic does not bear much scrutiny. Currently, the combined record of Mihajlovic’s opponents is 63-74-5. Several of the men Mihajlovic beat were either making their pro debuts, coming in off a loss or were completely winless at the time.

As far as technique is concerned, Mihajlovic is a fairly small heavyweight who nonetheless employs an aggressive, physical style. He is most dangerous when striking from top position and uses body-lock takedowns in order to get his opponents down. Mihajlovic, being a heavyweight, has some pop in his strikes but almost never throws more than one strike at a time. His kickboxing arsenal is limited mostly to low kicks and right hands, which Mihajlovic follows into the clinch.

THE ODDS: Ngannou (-600), Mihajlovic (+460)

THE PICK: Ngannou is five inches taller and 15 pounds heavier than the Serbian debutante. He effortlessly stuffed the explosive shot takedowns of Curtis Blaydes in his last fight, so the more methodical clinch game of Mihajlovic should be no problem. At range, while Mihajlovic is looking for predictable, single strikes, Ngannou will be smashing away with quick, intelligent combinations. This is the heavyweight division, so anything can happen, but it would be a real surprise to see Ngannou lose. The pick is Ngannou by second-round knockout.

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