Preview: UFC Fight Night 172 ‘Overeem vs. Harris’

straight wins, straight finishes! @ChitoVeraUFC gets it done in round 3! #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/Z597ntwp0r

— UFC (@ufc) October 12, 2019

Featherweights

Yadong Song (15-4-1) vs. Marlon Vera (15-5-1)

ODDS: Song (-175), Vera (+155)

There is some question about whether he is really his stated 22 years of age, but no matter the date on the birth certificate, China’s Song is definitely a prospect to watch. After some impressive performances on cards in Asia, the UFC brought Song stateside in 2019, and he announced himself in brutal fashion: His absolute starching of Alejandro Perez at UFC 239 remains one of the most underappreciated violent knockouts of the last few years. In his last fight, a December tilt against Cody Stamann, Song had his hype cooled a bit, but still showed there was a lot to like. Stamann has essentially done nothing but play spoiler during his time in the UFC, and he did so again, staying out of danger and using his wrestling to control large swaths of the fight, enough so that most felt it was a bit of a robbery when Song escaped with a draw rather than a decision loss. Song’s ceiling remains as high as anyone’s in a deep bantamweight division, but the Stamann fight showed that he is still more of a medium- to long-term prospect than an immediate contender. For all of that, he does not get much of a step back in competition here, as he faces the streaking Vera.

Spawned by the inaugural “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America,” Vera is one of the biggest overachievers from a season that turned out to be full of them. On the show, Vera was more notable for his story than anything else, as he was fighting for money to treat his daughter’s rare neurological disease. Despite losing his Octagon debut to castmate Marco Beltran, the UFC saw enough in Vera to keep him around and let him develop, even after some rough stretches early in his career. He is now firmly in the camp of guys who will take a fight against anyone at any time, and he has managed to win his last five bouts in the process. While he is still often a victim of slow starts, Vera has been consistently able to fight back with a combination of aggression and a nose for the finish, as he has stopped everyone during his streak. Vera has been set up for a step up in competition for a while now—he was briefly slated to face Jimmie Rivera in February—and a chance to unseat a top prospect in Song certainly qualifies.

This should be a corker for however long it lasts. Song was exposed somewhat in his last fight, but at the same time, it is difficult to see Vera as the guy who can take advantage of those weaknesses. Beyond the slow starts, Vera is not much of a control artist, instead relying more on big opportunities to shift the momentum of a fight on route to a finish. Vera could certainly get there, particularly if he manages to set a pace and tire Song in the later rounds, but he will probably have to put himself in danger to be effective. Therein lies the rub against someone as dangerous as Song. Vera has never been finished, so this is a bit of a flier, but the call is for Song to catch him early and score a first-round stoppage.

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