Middleweight: Claudio Ribeiro Vs. Ivan Valenzuela
Tale of the tape
31-years-old
6’1″
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Brazilian Blak Thai
9-2
8 KO/TKOs
Combined opponent’s record: 56-41
29-years-old
6’2″
Veracruz, Mexico
Inv1ktus Dgo
8-1
4 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions
Combined opponent’s record: 36-24
Pros and Cons
Claudio Ribeiro
Pros
- Dangerous in exchanges
- Heavy hands
- Good leg kicks
- Good get-up ability
- Excellent finishing ability
- Dangerous in burst
Cons
- Wide striking/Sloppy
- Flat-footed
- Easily pressed back
- Vulnerable in exchanges
- TDD needs a little work
- Struggles against the cage
Ivan Valenzuela
Pros
- Good ground and pound
- Submission threat
- Good knees
- Good defensive wrestling
- Good use of front chokes
Cons
- Poor cardio
- Flat-footed
- Low output
- Easily hit
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Even
Speed: Ribeiro
Output/Volume: Ribeiro
Kickboxing: Ribeiro
Striking defense: Ribeiro
Footwork/movement: Even
Wrestling: Valenzuela
Grappling: Valenzuela
More likely to finish on the mat: Valenzuela
Gas tank: Ribeiro
Prediction: I came into this fight expecting to pick Valenzuela but I’m not.
Valenzuela, although he has a lot of finishes, is underwhelming. All his finishes come from flash sequences. You hardly see him beat someone down en route to a finish which is more impressive.
Ribeiro isn’t great and is pretty sloppy with his striking. Saying that it’s been effective. His blitzing of looping hooks does come into play against someone lacking footwork and striking defense. That’s Valenzuela as he doesn’t use effective footwork and his head is there for the taking.
In the fights he went the distance in he gets hit a lot more as the fight goes on. I don’t think Ribeiro is UFC level but I think he could look good here. He’s more powerful and has a good gas tank. Valenzuela could take him down but he won’t keep him down.
