On August 22 the UFC is back at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada once again. The UFC Vegas 7 card is headlined by Frankie Edgar and Pedro Munhoz in a very important bantamweight bout. Also on the card is Michelle Waterson vs Angela Hill, Ovince St. Preux and several up and coming fighters. With a lot of late notice replacements, Jordan Wright is stepping in on short notice for Jorge Gonzalez to fight Ike Villanueva (16-10 MMA, 0-1) UFC.
Jordan Wright
6’2″
Middleweight
28-years-old
Kansas City, Kansas, US
Jackson Wink MMA
10-0, 1 NC
5 KO/TKOs
5 Submissions
How will Wright fare in the UFC:
Wright has beat mainly lower level to downright poor opposition thus far in his career. To his credit, he’s been easily slicing through those opponents the way he’s supposed too. The one step up in competition against Anthony Hernandez, he lost inside round one. Which is a isn’t a great look. Wright is a karate fighter who throws a lot of kicks while throwing with a bit of flash. He’ll hold his hands low and once he’s pressed against the cage he’s there to be hit as shown in his loss. He looks to have some good wrestling and he does a lot of good things in the grappling department. He knows how to move and he is a submission threat. It’s a tough one to call because he does have an overall solid skill-set but his chin may be a problem and he isn’t proven at all.
- Striking: C+
- Kickboxing: B-
- Clinch: C+
- Wrestling: C+
- Grappling: B-
- Striking Defense: C
- Takedown Defense: C+
- Cardio: B
- Biggest Strength: Ground game
- Biggest Weakness: Striking defense
How he matches up with Villanueva:
Villanueva is a striker at heart but will wrestle if needed. He’s a guy that’s always looking to go all out and throw caution to the wind. Ike is a finisher and the thunder he throws with his hands in his fights is the reason he has thirteen wins by KO/TKO. That alone is a threat to Wright if Wright doesn’t keep Ike at a distance. Wright could just take this fight down and submit Ike since Villanueva has lost five times by submission. Outside of power, Wright is far more technical, has the reach, and acceptable footwork. The pick is Wright.
The bet I like is Wright inside the distance at +165. That line is a bit crazy because Wright has a 100% finish rate and Ike has a tendency to lose by finish. It’s really a perfect line.
