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UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield is live on ESPN+ and continues with this exciting bout in the Welterweight (170lb) Division. AJ “The Ghost” Fletcher will square off against the newcomer from Zimbabwe, Themba Gorimbo. Gorimbo will be making his UFC debut while Fletcher still seeks his elusive first win in the promotion. Check out our UFC odds series for our Fletcher-Gorimbo prediction and pick.
AJ Fletcher is 9-2 in his MMA career and will be fighting in his third fight with the UFC. His first two fights were both losses to Matt Semelsberger and Ange Loosa, respectively. In both of those, Fletcher lost unanimous decisions and failed to wow judges with his lack of striking. Fletcher will look to bounce back and finally get a win in the UFC against an opponent making his debut. Fletcher stands 5'10” and has a 67-inch reach.
Themba Gorimbo is 10-3 in his MMA career and is currently listed as the No. 1 ranked welterweight in South Africa. With a talented crop of fighters coming out of South Africa is the last few years, Gorimbo will look to be the next fighter to put his home country on the map. He'll be looking to win some fans with exciting striking as he faces AJ Fletcher in his debut. Themba Gorimbo stands 6'0″ and has a 76.5-inch reach.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC Odds: AJ Fletcher-Themba Gorimbo Odds
AJ Fletcher: -290
Themba Gorimbo: +225
Over (2.5) rounds: +130
Under (2.5) rounds: -166
How to Watch AJ Fletcher vs. Themba Gorimbo
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET/ 1:00 p.m. PT (Prelims)
*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why AJ Fletcher Will Win
AJ Fletcher would like to see some success from all the work he is putting into making his UFC dreams a reality. He was a highly-touted prospect coming out of DWCS when he secured a contract with an electric flying-knee KO. Since, however, Fletcher's octagon performances have been lackluster and he's not been able to find a win in his two fights. Fletcher comes out very methodical and looks to land big bombs early. He has tremendous power, but often loads up on his shots due to his size.
With no formal wrestling background, Fletcher does extremely well with timing his takedowns and can have tremendous top pressure if he can out-muscle his opponent. He'll have a significant disadvantage on the feet here as Gorimbo will be the much longer fighter with better striking. To win this fight, Fletcher will have to control Gorimbo with his wrestling and counter submission attempts with hard ground-and-pound. As the much stronger fighter, Fletcher should have an advantage in being able to keep Gorimbo lying on his back.
Why Themba Gorimbo Will Win
Themba Gorimbo has shown in several regional circuits that he is ready for a step-up in competition. He's been calling UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard for a while now about a fight opportunity, and he'll be getting one here in his debut. Gorimbo is a very fluid and precise striker. He can hit opponents with a mix of head and body strikes while constantly bouncing around the octagon. He's light on his feet until he plants and explodes with attacks.
The question here is if Gorimbo can take a shot to his chin. His competition hasn't been stellar, but he's also been putting guys away in spectacular fashion. There's certainly a gap in his game when it comes to defending takedowns, but Gorimbo has a dangerous jiu-jitsu game from bottom position and can catch his opponents off guard. He'll have to be especially creative in combating the top pressure of Fletcher in this one.
Final AJ Fletcher-Themba Gorimbo Prediction & Pick
This may be a spot for the UFC to build up their next South African talent in Themba Gorimbo. He'll have a huge reach/height advantage over Fletcher and will be dangerous off of his back. While AJ Fletcher has all the skills to be a formidable UFC opponent, he hasn't shown much that points to him winning this contest in convincing fashion. I like Gorimbo here to shine with his striking; look for him to seek submission attempts from under Fletcher.
Final AJ Fletcher-Themba Gorimbo Prediction & Pick: Themba Gorimbo (+225); by Submission (+700)
