The MMA Daily

We have ourselves a scrap in the Lightweight division, as Devonte “King Kage” Smith takes on Ludovit “Mr. Highlight” Klein. Coming off a tough loss to Jamie Mullarkey and having seen the luster from his hot start fade, Smith will look to get back on track. A loser of two of his last three fights, Smith enters a dangerous territory in his UFC career. Meanwhile, Klein is stepping into this fight on short notice. A loser of two straight, Klein puts himself in a risky proposition. Should he not come out on top, it could be the end of his tenure in the UFC.

As for a prediction, I have Smith winning. While he hasn’t fared well of late, he holds several advantages that should tip this fight in his favor. For one, he’s got a size advantage. Klein is coming up from Featherweight and will have to overcome a two inch height and four inch reach disadvantage. Another advantage Smith has, is that between his size and takedown defense, Klein will struggle to wrestle. Klein being a talented striker, has taken to wrestling to neutralize pure strikers. However, I don’t see Klein being able to get this fight to the mat. Lastly, Smith is a higher output striker with legitimate knockout power. Averaging nearly two more significant strikes per minute and with a 91% knockout rate, Smith is a dangerous man on the feet. So with all that said, I predict that Smith will bounce back here, winning via knockout.