Stepping in to save a fight on the UFC 290 main card this weekend, Val Woodburn has the difficult assignment of going up against unbeaten middleweight prospect Bo Nickal. One of the most decorated NCAA wrestlers in years, Nickal is also one of the most hyped prospects to arrive in the UFC in ages. Originally, Nickal was to take on Tresean Gore in the fight. With Gore out, it’s Woodburn to the rescue.
Val Woodburn
Standing at five-foot-eight
Fighting at 185 lbs (middleweight)
29-years-old
Fighting out of Apopka, Florida, US
Training out of Fusion Xcel Performance
A pro record of 7-0
5 KO/TKOs
How will Woodburn fare in the UFC:
Woodburn gets this fight on short notice and it’s not a bad move from the UFC. Woodburn is arguably a tougher fight for Bo Nickal than Gore was. Woodburn is a product out of Fusion Xcel in Florida and is coming off winning the Combat Night Pro middleweight title.
Woodburn wins fights due to his sheer power. He’s undersized in height at just five-foot-eight but is a thick dude. Woodburn fought at 205 as an amateur so he’s a big athlete. Not fat either as he is a muscle-bound guy.
On the feet Woodburn will just march forward and throw power hooks. He isn’t technical in the slightest as he just relies on landing the knockout blow. Being a shorter guy he just powers forward without any setups. Woodburn will have a lot of trouble in the UFC against guys that throw a good jab and has good lateral movement. Just forward pressure and looping hooks can only take him so far. Woodburn is more of a threat on top due to his ground and pound. I wouldn’t rate his Jiu-Jitsu high at all as he’s just heavy on top. Wrestling is decent at best. Woodburn gets the fight down based on his strength alone. He just powers guys down wasting a lot of energy.
Power is a good thing to have but it doesn’t matter much when you are at such a height disadvantage. Now there are a few guys he would be a tough matchup for. In review, I don’t see him amounting to much in the UFC.
