The MMA Daily

The curtain jerker comes in the Welterweight division, as Darian Weeks takes on Yohan Lainesse. Having dropped his first two fights inside the octagon, Weeks comes into this bout on the chopping block. Urgently needing a victory, Weeks has an opportunity to not only taste UFC victory for the first time, but keep his job in the process. Meanwhile, Lainesse comes into this fight off his first professional loss. Attempting to rebound, Lainesse will look to his second UFC appearance to prove he belongs.

An intriguing fight to open the card, I envision two scenario’s. One, Lainesse, who is an awkward striker, yet holds immense power, will tag and stop Weeks in the opening round. Two, Weeks, who is fairly well rounded and has good cardio, will weather the storm and stop Lainesse as the fight wanes. Seeing how both men have looked inside the octagon, I’m leaning toward scenario two. The reason behind that, is while Weeks is 0-2 inside the octagon, he has fought tough competition. He’s also more experienced than his seven professional fights might suggest, as he’s fought nineteen times as an amateur. With excellent durability, I find it easy to believe that he can withstand Lainesse early and storm back as the fresher fighter in the later rounds. With that said, I predict Weeks to win via TKO.