Preview: UFC on ESPN 59 Prelims

Middleweights

Josh Fremd (11-5, 2-3 UFC) vs. Andre Petroski (10-3, 5-2 UFC)

ODDS: Fremd (-110), Petroski (-110)

This might not be the prettiest fight in practice, but it’s a well-matched bout that gives two middleweights a solid opportunity to get back in the win column. Petroski kicked off his UFC career with five straight wins and did an impressive job of improving during that time. The Pennsylvanian came to the UFC with a game that seemed to be less than the sum of its parts. A powerful wrestler and grappler for the regional level, Petroski had all the tools to run over the opposition but found himself running out of ideas and tiring himself out in the face of any resistance. Once Petroski made it to the big time, he did a much better job of pacing himself. Initially, this manifested itself with some unimpressively slow-paced wins over the bottom reaches of the UFC roster, but by the time of his win over Gerald Meerschaert in August, Petroski had a well-rounded game that he could keep going for three rounds. That has made the last nine months or so a bit disappointing, since Petroski has hit his ceiling and hit it hard. Michel Pereira had Petroski dead to rights in terms of athleticism and quickly knocked him out, and Jacob Malkoun was also able to finish him by running a more technically sound version of the same game. Things get a bit more forgiving against Fremd, who has taken a quieter route to essentially wind up in the same spot. Fremd’s most notable feature is that he’s absolutely massive for the middleweight division, and he puts his size to good use. He’s not much of a finisher, but he keeps applying pressure in the hopes that he can overwhelm his opponents or just turn things into a grind. That has led to some clear wins over the bottom third or so of the UFC’s middleweight roster. However, while Fremd has given better competition some tough fights, he has mostly been undone by his lack of speed and defense, which has left him a sitting duck against faster athletes. Petroski probably clears that bar without being an outstanding athlete in the aggregate, but he’s the more fluid fighter and should be able to cycle through his offense while neutralizing Fremd’s grinding style. With that said, this doesn’t figure to be a fight with much in the way of big moments. The pick is Petroski via decision.

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