Strikeforce Challengers 18 Preview

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Lightweights
Pat Healy (24-16, 2-1 SF) vs. Eric Wisely (17-5, 0-0 SF)

The Matchup: You have to love veterans like Healy, who typically show up as the B-side to the favored fighter, with little billing or fanfare.

Healy simply brings it every time out, with the kind of deep experience one only accrues by fighting readily over the years. He has dropped decision losses to Chris Lytle, Jake Ellenberger and Jay Hieron. He has also submitted former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit and onetime UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy; all in all, not bad for a journeyman lightweight.

He represents the perfect opponent for an up-and-coming fighter like Wisely, who has beaten Hermes Franca twice and also submitted UFC veteran Matt Veach. Wisely has five losses but has never been finished. That includes his 2007 encounter with fellow young gun Erik Koch, now a rising UFC featherweight prospect, which ended in a unanimous decision defeat. Wisely once trained with the famed Miletich Fighting Systems camp, and his game reflects much of the tutelage he has received from Spencer Fisher. He fights as an aggressive southpaw, countering confidently with his hands and looking to nail opponents with straight, sharp punches.

Wisely is superior on the feet, a fact Healy is smart enough to recognize and adapt accordingly. The trait that makes veterans like Healy great tests is that they do not get sucked into ego contests; they stick to a plan an attempt to execute it. They seem largely unaware and unaffected by whether the crowd likes it or not, mostly because the only people usually rooting for them are seated in their corners.

Healy can grapple -- he gave Lytle fits in their 2005 WEC bout and nearly pulled off a decision upset. The key for Wisely will be takedown defense, utilizing punishing shots and then separating cleanly. Healy will keep coming and test his mettle, eventually forcing one of them to break in the process.

The Pick: Wisely will be tested here but emerge victorious in a tense battle of wills, landing enough strikes on the feet and escaping Healy’s submission threats and punches on the ground to take a hard-fought decision.

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