The MMA Daily

The curtain jerker comes in the Welterweight division, as Orion Cosce takes on Blood Diamond. Coming off an unsuccessful UFC debut, which was also his first professional loss, Cosce returns to the octagon looking to get back on track. Known for his finishing prowess, Cosce comes into this fight with a 100% finishing rate. Meanwhile, Diamond too will look to move on from an unsuccessful UFC debut. One that quite frankly showed his inexperience, as one could expect from a fighter with only three mixed martial arts fights.

This should be an entertaining fight for as long as it last, as only Diamond has seen the scorecards once. A kickboxer, who has transitioned into mixed martial arts, Diamond has a wealth of striking experience. What Diamond lacks however, is the wrestling and grappling, which he found out the hard way in his UFC debut. Seeing how Cosce has a wrestling background and will certainly test Diamond’s takedown defense, it’s hard not for me to side with the American. My only concern is Cosce’s cardio. Should he expend too much energy and fail to put away Diamond early, I could definitely see the Zimbabwe native pull off a comeback. However, ignoring Diamond’s lack of mixed martial arts experience and deficiencies within his game would be foolish. With that said, I predict Cosce will win via TKO.