The MMA Daily

We have a clash in the Lightweight division, as Benoit “God of War” Saint-Denis takes on Niklas “Green Mask” Stolze. Coming off an unsuccessful UFC debut, which happened to be his first professional debut, Saint-Denis returns to the octagon looking to secure his first UFC victory. Prior to the defeat, Saint-Denis was 8-0, with all his wins coming inside the distance. Meanwhile, Stolze will hope that the third time’s the charm. Looking to halt a two-fight skid, and presumably keep his UFC tenure in tact, Stolze comes into this fight desperately needing a victory.

As for a prediction, I have Saint-Denis winning. While Stolze has faced some tough competition in his first two UFC fights, I haven’t seen much of the kickboxer that entered the UFC. Obviously getting starched in 68 seconds in one fight and having to fend off takedowns in another aren’t exactly going to show me much. However, that’s more on his abilities. One’s that coming into the UFC, showed a lack of takedown defense and a hands low approach that could lead to problematic striking defense. At the highest level in the UFC, more often than not, you’ll get exposed.

The same could be said about Saint-Denis, who absorbed an absurd 149 significant strikes in his debut defeat. A fight that should of been stopped, but instead showed Saint-Denis may in fact be a zombie. Regardless, Saint-Denis lacks as a striker and it showed. His bread-and-butter is his grappling, where he won seven of eight victories via submission. Seeing that Stolze struggled to fend of Ramazan Emeev and was controlled for nearly seven minutes, leads me to believe that Saint-Denis could see some success. Not that he’s on par as a wrestler with Emeev, but that Stolze’s takedown defense has largely been a vulnerability. One that I believe Saint-Denis will attack. With that said, I predict that Saint-Denis will win via submission.