Welterweight: Billy Goff Vs. Shimon Smotritsky
Tale of the tape
23-years-old
5’10”
Groton, Connecticut, US
Dexter MMA
7-2
5 KO/TKOs
Combined opponent’s record: 33-11
21-years-old
6’2″
Holon, Israel
Teampact Holon
8-1 4 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission
Combined opponent’s record: 30-15
Pros and Cons
Billy Goff
Pros
- Toughness
- Nasty elbows
- Good ground and pound
- Constant volume
- Underrated wrestling
- Goes body-head often
- Good bodywork
- Excellent ground and pound/Elbows
- Frequent pressure
- Gets better as the fight goes
Cons
- Doesn’t care to be hit
- Comes in on straight lines
- TDD needs work
Shimon Smotritsky
Pros
- Solid wrestling
- Good jiu-jitsu
- Chain wrestles well
- Good ground and pound
- Solid jiu-jitsu
- Smooth back take
- Tight grappling
- Submission threat
- Good upperbody/clinch takedowns
- Improved hands
- Solid kickboxing
Cons
- Has trouble against the cage
- Slows slightly as the fight goes
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Goff
Speed: Even
Output/Volume: Goff
Kickboxing: Smotritsky
Striking defense: Smotritsky
Footwork/movement: Smotritsky
Wrestling: Smotritsky
Grappling: Smotritsky
More likely to finish on the mat: Smotritsky
Gas tank: Goff
Prediction: Smotritsky fought last season on the Contender Series and came up short to Mike Mallott. The fight happened so quickly, with Smotritsky getting caught in a guillotine in under a minute, that he never had a chance to show anything.
Goff is a guy who Smotritsky is going to be able to showcase everything against while proving a lot of things about himself. Goff may not be the cleanest fighter but is a dog and to beat him you have to put him down.
Chances are likely that this fight goes one of two ways: Smotritsky getting the submission early or Goff wearing on him getting the late finish. Of all the fights on this card, this one is the toughest one to call. I’m leaning towards Smotritsky due to the fact he is the larger guy and his ground game is the key to victory.
