Light heavyweight: Armen Petrosyan Vs. Kaloyan Kolev
Tale of the Tape
30-years-old
6’2″
Yerevan, Armenia but born in Russia
Academy MMA
5-1
100% finish-rate
28-years-old
6’2″
Sofia, Bulgaria
Warrior Fight Club
10-0
Eight first-round finishes
Pros and Cons
Armen Petrosyan
Pros
- Light footwork
- Excellent kickboxing
- Nice punch-kick combinations
- Good jab
- Good one-two
- Dangerous in space
- Good in the clinch
- Covers distance well
- Big knockout power
- Explosive
Cons
- Poor TDD
- Questionable chin
- One-dimensional
- Struggles against pressure
- Grappling defense lacks
Kaloyan Kolev
Pros
- Good ground and pound
- Strikes to wrestle well
- Good top position
- Decent wrestling
- Credible grappling
Cons
- Head movement lacks
- Slows as the fight goes
- Flat-footed
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Petrosyan
Speed: Petrosyan
Output/Volume: Petrosyan
Knockout Power: Petrosyan
Chin: Kolev
Kickboxing: Petrosyan
Footwork: Petrosyan
Wrestling: Kolev
Grappling: Kolev
Submissions: Kolev
Cardio: Petrosyan
Prediction
Petrosyan is a really good striker credited with a strong kickboxing/muay thai background. His takedown defense is an issue though and will be if he’s thrown into the UFC right away.
Petrosyan is getting a challenge in Kolev, who is a credentialed judo fighter. He does have decent hands but his sole focus is to take the fight down. So far the wrestling of Kolev has looked just average. It’s good enough to take Petrosyan down but maybe not hold him down and keep taking him down.
In terms of quality of opposition, Kolev has fought some awful competition, where at least Petrosyan has fought tough guys. I see Kolev having a good round one and then gas out. In that instance, once Petrosyan should pick away at Kolev. Petrosyan has more of an advantage on the feet than Kolev does on the mat. I would stay away from betting this but the under 1.5 may be the best value.
