Guillard vs. Stephens Pick
One of the main card bouts at UFC 119 has explosive lightweights Melvin Guillard and Jeremy Stephens doing battle.
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Guillard enters the fight as the favorite with a betting line of -170 while Stephens has been given a line of +140 according to online sports book BroburySports.com. Here is a closer look at both fighters heading into this bout, which will take place from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana at 10PM ET on Pay Per-View.
Melvin Guillard (25-8-2):
Strengths: A tremendous athlete, Guillard has great quickness and great power. He has 16 wins by knockout in his career and he is riding a two-fight win streak, with his last fight ending on a knee to the body. Guillard has the ability to grapple, but he prefers to stand and trade.
Weaknesses: Guillard has struggled against submission fighters, as he is somewhat easy to takedown as he throws big punches that leave him open to takedowns. Once on the ground, his defense is weak. Seven of his eight losses have come by submission as he has struggled to defend chokes.
Last Five Fights:
First round KO win over Waylon Lowe at UFC 114 on May 29, 2010
Unanimous decision win over Ronys Torres at UFC 109 on Feb. 6, 2010
Second round submission loss to Nate Diaz on UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16, 2009
Split decision win over Gleison Tibau at Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009
First round TKO win over Dennis Siver at UFC 86 on July 5, 2008
Jeremy Stephens (17-5):
Strengths: Like Guillard, Stephens packs a lot of power in his strikes and he commits to each punch he throws. In his career, he has 12 wins by knockout with two submission victories. Stephens has shown improved technique and wrestling in recent fights as well.
Weaknesses: Like Guillard, Stephens has struggled on the ground, but he does train jiu-jitsu with Hermes Franca and we suspect his submission skills are a little better than Guillard. Stephens can sometimes lose focus on his game plan and get into slug fests, which would be a problem in this contest.
Last Five Fights:
Split decision win over Sam Stout at UFC 113 on May 8, 2010
First round TKO win over Justin Buchholz at UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16, 2009
Unanimous decision loss to Gleison Tibau at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1, 2009
Second round submission loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 17 on Feb. 7, 2009
Third round KO win over Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 91 on Nov. 15, 2008
Who will win: With equal punching power, the better grappler will likely earn the win where they can set up ground and pound ability. We think Stephens is the better wrestler and submission fighter and that will show as he earns a third round TKO win over Guillard for a mild upset.
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