Flyweight: Luis Rodriguez vs. Jerome Rivera
Tale of the tape
20-years-old
5’6″
Coatzacoalcos, Mexico
ADAM Coatzacoalcos
11-1
25-years-old
5’10″
72.5″
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Luttrell/Yee MMA & Fitness
9-2
Pros and Cons
Rodriguez
Pros
- Explosive
- Throws heavy leather
- Good ground and pound
- Solid cardio
- Heavy leg kicks
Cons
- Questionable TDD
- Throws wild
Jerome Rivera
Pros
- Good TDD
- Excellent ground and pound
- Nice front kick
- Good use of kicks
- Dangerous off his back
- Solid cardio
- Good muay-thai knees
- Smooth transitions
- Good jiu-jitsu
Cons
- Striking needs some polishing
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Rodriguez
Speed: Rodriguez
Output/Volume: Rivera
Knockout Power: Rodriguez
Chin: Unknown
Kickboxing: Rodriguez
Footwork: Rivera
Wrestling: Even
Grappling: Rivera
Submissions: Rivera
Cardio: Even
Prediction
I love this Contender Series fight and it could easily be the best fight of the card. One of the things that sticks out to me is Rivera has fought much better competition. Rivera hasn’t really beat anyone great but has been in there with Brandon Royval and Roberto Sanchez, a.k.a one current and one former UFC fighter. Rodriguez is coming down from bantamweight but Rivera is the bigger guy by four inches. Rodriguez is the much more polished compact striker. He has better hands and where he could have some success is with his leg kicks, especially against the long legs of Rivera.
While Rodriguez is the more dangerous striker, fighting in bursts he may have trouble finding his range. Rivera may be able to use his kicks to maintain the range and eventually find his way to the mat. If the fight does hit the mat which I think it will then jiu-jitsu will lead Rivera to victory. Rivera is just far more proven and his grappling/size will most likely give Rodriguez fits.
