Preview: UFC on ESPN 51 Prelims

Heavyweights

Martin Buday (12-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Josh Parisian (15-6, 2-3 UFC)

ODDS: Buday (-218), Parisian (+180)

His fights may not be all that pretty, but Buday has proven himself as a heavyweight prospect worth watching. The Slovakian is a massive man who has had to work his way down to the heavyweight limit and takes advantage of his frame in solid fashion. “Badys” looks to march down his opponents in straight-ahead fashion, either pouring on offense or simply smothering them against the fence. It is an approach that has gotten Buday the win in all three of his UFC bouts thus far, and given the durability he has shown, he should be able to ride his style up the division a bit further, even before he starts seeing the gains of his experience. Buday looks for his fourth UFC win in a thrown-together bout against Parisian, who gets a quick turnaround after a fight in July was scrapped at the last minute. Parisian is in a similar mold as a gigantic heavyweight who looks to pressure his opponents, though the American brings a bit more diverse offense to the table, showing an ability to pull out some surprisingly dynamic techniques for a man his size. However, Parisian has not really seen the benefits of that dynamism at the UFC level. His fights mostly come down to his ability to play bully over the course of three rounds, leading him to struggle against the larger grinders that a major promotion has to offer. This looks like another fight where Parisian will run into a clear physical wall. The pick is Buday via decision.

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