Contender Series Week 6: Aaron Tau vs. Elijah Smith continues with the featured bout between Aaron Tau and Arthur Lopes in the bantamweight division. Tau is an undefeated prospect who has won all eight of his fights coming into his shot on the Contender Series meanwhile, Smith has won four straight fights as he comes into his short notice appearance on the Contender Series. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Tau-Smith prediction and pick.
Aaron Tau (8-0) was originally scheduled to face off against Quang Le until he was given the opportunity to step in to face Chris Gutierrez earlier this year. Now Tau will be putting his unbeaten record on the line when he takes on Elijah Smith on this week’s episode of the Contender Series.
Elijah Smith (6-1) comes into this short notice opportunity with wins in each of his last four fights where three of those wins came via finish. Smith will be looking to make the most of this opportunity when he takes on the unbeaten Aaron Tau in an attempt to secure his UFC contract on Tuesday night.
Here are the Contender Series UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC Contender Series Odds: Aaron Tau-Elijah Smith Odds
Aaron Tau: +154
Elijah Smith: -200
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Why Aaron Tau Will Win
Aaron Tau is an undefeated prospect from New Zealand training out of Dan Hooker’s Combat Academy and City Kickboxing. Tau is 8-0 with 6 of his wins coming by finish which is split between 5 KO/TKO and 1 submission. Tau was getting ready to take on Quang Le but after Le was signed to the UFC last month, Tau is now facing off against short-notice newcomer Elijah Smith on this week’s episode of the Contender Series.
Tau is the protege of Dan Hooker and it shows in his fighting style. He is a very aggressive striker who prides himself on his toughness and his willingness to throw back in the fire. He is small for the bantamweight division at just 5’3″ but he makes up for his lack of size with his tenacity and will to lay it all on the line. We’ve seen him take damage but still come forward laying it on his opponents and getting them out of there. In this matchup against Smith, he’s going to have to deal with the length of Smith but utilizing his head movement and feints to get on the inside to land his thunderous combinations. As long as Tau can avoid taking the big shots of Smith and counter back with heavy strikes of his own he can come away with his 9th win in a row and his UFC contract.
Why Elijah Smith Will Win
Elijah Smith will be stepping in to face the unbeaten Aaron Tau on this week’s episode of the Contender Series on short notice after Quang Le Tau’s original opponent stepped in to face Chris Gutierrez at an early date. Smith is 6-1 in his professionally career with 5 of those 6 wins coming by finish which are split between 4 KO/TKO and 1 submission. Smith will be looking for the biggest win of his career when he takes on New Zealand’s Aaron Tau on Tuesday night.
Smith is an exceptional striker from range where he utilizes his height and length quite well. He is going to be the far larger fighter in this matchup against Tau and he will need to utlize his length just like he did against his last opponent Josh Walker to keep him at the end of his strikes. Seeing as how Tau takes a ton of damage in his fights this certainly bodes well for a striker like Smith who has shown a ton of pop in his strikes. As long as Smith can use his length to touch Tau from the outside he will be able to land something flush at some point putting Tau out and getting his UFC contract.
Final Aaron Tau-Elijah Smith Prediction & Pick
This fight has the potential to steal the show on this week’s episode of the Contender Series between these two bantamweight fights. Both Tau and Smith have the ability to land the knockout blow at any given point of this fight making this the fight to watch coming into Tuesday night.
Ulitmately, Tau’s biggest disadvantage will be his size in this matchup giving up 6″ of height and almost as much in reach will be the biggest factor in Smith getting it done as he will be able to pepper Tau with strikes from the outside until he lands a flush right hand that sits him down putting him out getting the biggest win of his career and securing his UFC contract.
Final Aaron Tau-Elijah Smith Prediction & Pick: Elijah Smith (-200)
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