Undefeated Vietnamese bantamweight Quang Le makes the jump from LFA to the UFC on Saturday, in a tough match-up with Chris Gutierrez, on short notice. The UFC Vegas 95 card is headlined by heavyweights, with Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac running it back. Gutierrez vs. Le features on the main card.
Quang “Bang” Le
Standing at five-foot-six
Fighting at 135 lbs (bantamweight)
32-years-old
Fighting out of Vietnam/US
Training out of ???
A pro record of 8-0
2 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions
How Le will fare in the UFC:
Le was supposed to fight on the Contender Series on week six but instead is getting this UFC opportunity on short notice. Le is an LFA veteran but more so a vet of the fight game. He only has eight pro fights but also had eleven amateur bouts. Le did lose four amateur fights but all to good fighters. He is worthy of this call-up due to his last few fights but mostly his pro career altogether.
Le doesn’t get enough credit for the work he did on the regional scene and I think mostly it’s because he went to a few decisions. He is coming off two knockouts but before that, he went to three decisions. The reason for those decisions is that Le fought a lot of aggressive wrestlers so it was a lot of defense. Le does get taken but he gets right back up. A lot of credit goes to his cage wrestling because he can defend takedowns really well by fighting the wrist, digging underhooks, and having good balance. On the flip side, he’s an underrated wrestler himself and has a solid ground game. Nothing flashy but he’s complete in his submission attack and ground and pound.
Le is able to fight anywhere but he is a better striker. He comes out with his lead left leg forward and sets the tone with that side. His left head kick, jab, check left hook, and straight all from that side. I’m not saying he’s limited because he chops the lead leg and rips the body from his right side. His hands are clean, he’s accurate and has deceptive power. Le isn’t the fastest or the most athletic but he’s what you look for when scouting a fighter.
How he matches up with Gutierrez:
Gutierrez is the toughest match-up to date for Quang Le by far. Gutierrez is a kickboxer who, although he can be more point-orientated, he’s a master at his craft. Le isn’t going to match Gutierrez with kickboxing and Gutierrez is going to be much faster. Gutierrez has a tendency to throw low volume and that makes it to where Le can win off having the bigger moments. I do lean toward Gutierrez because of his speed and distance control. I think Le is live as I only value Gutierrez as a -140 favorite. Gutierrez by decision is the pick.
