Featherweight: Blake Bilder Vs. Alex Morgan
Tale of the tape
32-years-old
5’8″
St. Paul, Minnesota, US
Spartan Martial Arts
6-0-1
1 KO/TKO, 3 Submissions
Combined opponent’s record: 25-19
31-years-old
5’10”
Blainville, Quebec
Tristar Gym
11-4
6 KO/TKOs
Combined opponent’s record: 52-25-1
Pros and Cons
Blake Bilder
Pros
- Submission threat
- Solid jiu-jitsu
- Good wrestling
- Tough as hell
- Well-conditioned
- Constant forward pressure
- Good volume
- Goes body-head well
Cons
- Too comfortable off his back
- Questionable chin
Alex Morgan
Pros
- Good straight punches
- Good counter striker
- Good clinch work
- Nice right hand
- Composed
- Good one-two
- Strong cardio
- Good shot-selection
Cons
- Head sits on the centerline
- TDD needs some work
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Morgan
Speed: Bilder
Output/Volume: Bilder
Kickboxing: Even
Striking defense: Bilder
Footwork/movement: Bilder
Wrestling: Bilder
Grappling: Bilder
More likely to finish on the mat: Bilder
Gas tank: Even
Prediction: I like this fight between two very deserving guys.
Morgan has fought good competition throughout his career with a lot of success. Bilder is a true warrior that is someone you want to watch every week. They match up so well which makes it difficult to break them down.
On the feet, I like Bilder’s style but his chin is a concern. He does everything right keeping his guard up but still gets dropped through his guard. Saying that he gets better when he’s hit and comes forward even stronger.
Morgan is a good technical striker that isn’t as good defensively. He is better now compared to his older fights though. Both are capable of taking the fight down but Bilder is the better grappler. I don’t think his grappling is a huge advantage though and Morgan seems defensively responsible on the mat unless he is rocked.
Both are really good-conditioned fighters that can fight at a good pace consistently. I’m picking Morgan because of his level of competition. Bilder has been on the brink of losing to guys he should be smoking and having to rally back and win. Morgan is the best guy he’s fought by a mile and that’s why I’m leaning towards Morgan.
I think this is one of the strongest weeks talent-wise in Dana White’s Contender Series history. I think all but one fighter (Henrique) is UFC level. If they perform as expected we are going to get a ton of new top-tier UFC fighters.
