Preview: UFC Kansas City ‘Garry vs. Prates’

Welterweights

Randy Brown (19-6, 13-6 UFC) vs. Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1, 7-4-1 UFC)

ODDS: Brown (-238), Dalby (+195)

The UFC welterweight division has some interesting veteran depth, which results in this intriguing clash of styles. It’s less novel nowadays, but Brown was extremely raw per the UFC’s standards when he made his promotional debut in 2016. “Rude Boy” was a ball of potential thanks to his size and athleticism, but he was also less than two years into his professional career. As such, it isn’t necessarily a shock that Brown’s success has come in fits and starts. He has continued to sharpen his skills but has yet to truly enjoy a career-defining run up the ladder. Brown is as good as ever with his weapons, but he is almost worse off for all the options with which his physical gifts provide him, as he can become a bit aimless at times while cycling through various ideas, putting him in some rough spots against opponents who can stick to their guns and keep applying pressure whenever Brown isn’t extremely locked in. Brown is getting better with those rough style matchups—his December loss to Bryan Battle was a close one—so this might be the best time for him to get a win against an opponent like Dalby.

This marks Dalby’s first fight since turning 40, and the Dane is the rare fighter to somehow still be at his physical peak at that age. Dalby made his UFC debut in 2015 and looked UFC-ready as a gritty striker, but he quickly hit a wall and slid out of the promotion in a shade over the year. That turned out to be a low point for Dalby, who was also dealing with alcoholism and depression at the time, but that only served to make his reinvention all the more impressive. He packed on muscle and now finds his most effectiveness as a relentless bully, using his physical strength to grime things up in the hopes that he can outlast his opponent with some outstanding cardio. It has worked shockingly well, with Dalby winning four straight prior to a controversial decision loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov in June. This seems to be another stylistic matchup set up for Dalby to achieve maximum effectiveness. There is a worry that Dalby simply won’t cause enough damage with his grinding approach to outweigh whatever offense Brown is able to land, but the lean is that the Dane can eke this one over the finish line. The pick is Dalby via decision.

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Garry vs. Prates
Zhang vs. Smith
Onama vs. Chikadze
Pereira vs. Magomedov
Brown vs. Dalby
Aliskerov vs. Muniz
The Prelims