The co-main event of tomorrow night’s UFC Vegas 12 card is a good one. It’s a battle of the nicknames as Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell (13-0) takes on Andre “Touchy” Fili (21-7) in the co-main event of the evening.
Mitchell has started his UFC career out by winning his first four fights to continue his perfect record. In those fights it’s been Mitchell’s superior ground game that’s really been impressive. Thug Nasty even pulled off a twister back in December against Matt Sayles.
In his last contest against Charles Rosa, Mitchell showed the difference between a good grappler and an elite grappler. Rosa couldn’t do anything and Mitchell went on to win a unanimous decision. His striking isn’t that great, but his ground game is next-level.
Andre Fili always seems to be that guy that fights all the fighters with hype behind them. He fought Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Kattar, and Sodiq Yusuff all on their rises in the UFC‘s featherweight division. Fili has some losses, but only to really good competition.
When he’s not facing top guys, Fili hasn’t really lost. He has some good wins on his record like Myles Jury, Charles Jourdain, and Dennis Bermudez. Fili is good wherever the fight goes, but tomorrow you can expect that he’s going to want to keep the fight standing.
UFC Vegas 12 Prediction
This fight is one of those ones that’s really easy to pick depending on where the fight goes. If the fight stays on the feet, I really like Fili’s chances to give Mitchell his first career loss. Fili isn’t an elite striker by any means, however, his striking is still better than Mitchell’s.
If Fili can stop the takedowns, I expect him to be able to score enough points to win on the cards. However, if Mitchell is able to land just one takedown he can end the fight. While Fili has a good ground game, they are on very different levels with their skills on the mat.
I definitely understand why Fili is a very live underdog at the moment. Again, if the fight remains standing, he’s got an excellent chance. I’m going to ride the UFC‘s hype train a little longer and say that Mitchell is able to get a takedown and a submission in this one.
Prediction: Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 2