Preview: UFC on ESPN 29 ‘Cannonier vs. Gastelum’

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Lightweights

NR | Vinc Pichel (13-2, 6-2 UFC) vs. NR | Austin Hubbard (13-5, 3-3 UFC)

ODDS: Pichel (-120), Hubbard (+100)

It is easy to forget about Pichel, as injuries have limited him to just eight fights over the course of his nine years on the UFC roster. This will somehow mark the fourth time that “From Hell” is coming back from a layoff of one year or more, including a three-year break from 2014 to 2017. If nothing else, Pichel has consistently put the time off to good use. Initially a rather straightforward bully—an approach that decidedly did not work against Rustam Khabilov—Pichel built out a solid and powerful striking game to become a well-rounded fighter. There is nothing groundbreaking to Pichel’s skill set, but between being physically strong, durable and knowing what he is doing, he can chug along at a solid level in the lightweight division for as long as his body holds up. This time around, he faces Hubbard, who is looking to break his streak of alternating wins and losses in the UFC with a second straight win.

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“Thud” is another unspectacularly well-rounded fighter in a positive sense. The UFC has seen fit to match him with wrestler after wrestler, and while he has been unable to get over the hump against the best of that bunch, he has also rarely been an easy out. Hubbard tends to pick up momentum as the fight goes on, so this should become an even fight by the time the third round rolls around. In general, though, Pichel appears to be strong enough to turn this into a grind that he can win early and ride out to a victory. The pick is Pichel via decision.

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