The UFC is back and hitting ESPN once again on May 9 for UFC 249. Just four days later, the promotion comes right back on a Wednesday for an ESPN+ event headlined by Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira. It’s a stacked card, with only two debuts set to go down on May 13. One of those will see PFL champ Philipe Lins taking on veteran and former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski.
Philipe “Monstro” Lins
6’2″
Heavyweight
32-years-old
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
American Top Team
14-3
13 KO/TKOs
4 Submission
How will Lins fare in the UFC:
People tend forget the resume of Lins, since he’s had a layoff of a little over a year. However, he’s on a four-fight win streak beating Jared Rosholt, Alex Nicholson, Caio Alencar, and Josh Copeland, while winning the PFL heavyweight tournament championship. Three of those fighters have competed inside the octagon.
Lins has more finishes on the feet but on the mat, he’s probably more dangerous as he is a BJJ black belt. On the feet, Lins throws a good jab, a nice one-two, and some heavy leg kicks. He’s good off his back foot and is a dangerous counter striker. Lins has power in his hands with good hand speed while throwing, usually in combinations. Lins is dangerous everywhere when it comes to capturing takedowns. He has a finish off defending a takedown, ending things with a guillotine, as well as off his back with a triangle. He’s also solid at taking the back and sinking in the RNC. He’s still fairly young at heavyweight and hasn’t taken a lot of damage. His defense all around is pretty solid despite getting dragged in a brawl every once in a while. Lins is an excellent addition to the division and someone I think will easily crack the top 15 at some point.
How Lins matches up with Arlovski:
In the last six fights of Andrei Arlovski, he’s only won one fight — a lackluster affair against Ben Rothwell. In three years, Arlovski has only been finished once but is still no doubt way past his prime. He’s still technically good, but at 41-years-old he’s slowing drastically. Lins is just much faster, stronger, and has more weapons. Lins should win this one.
