UFC Fight Night 151: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy - Predictions and Picks

#5 Walt Harris vs. Sergey Spivak

Walt Harris is a great athlete at Heavyweight

Initially, this fight was supposed to see Harris taking on Aleksei Oleinik, but when the big Russian ended up fighting Alistair Overeem a couple of weeks back, the UFC has signed unbeaten newcomer Sergey Spivak to face him instead. That means it’s a much more risky fight for Walt Harris, who would be on a two-fight win streak had he not tested positive for a banned substance following his December win over Andrei Arlovski.

So why is Harris able to fight just 4 months later? Well, apparently USADA decided that the positive test came from a “tainted supplement”, something we won’t get into here. At any rate, ‘The Big Ticket’ is a huge Heavyweight and he’s extremely gifted in an athletic sense, but he’s still got a ton of holes in his game; he can be lulled into a horribly slow pace, and while he hits hard, his defense – both standing and on the ground – leaves a lot to be desired.

I’ll be frank and say I’d have picked Oleinik to beat him pretty easily; Harris is just too open to getting caught to get past a wily veteran like the Russian, but Sergey Spivak is another story entirely. Hailing from Moldova, the same country that produced 205lbs prospect Ion Cutelaba, Spivak looks somehow even wilder, eschewing any kind of defense to throw wild haymakers at his opponents before looking to beat them up on the ground.

That style has served him well thus far – he’s 9-0 and has only been out of the first round once – but unsurprisingly, you’ve got to question his opposition massively, and really none of his previous foes will have given him the kind of test that Harris likely will purely based on the UFC veteran’s athleticism.

I don’t see this being one of Harris’s slower fights simply because the inexperienced Spivak just doesn’t really know any different other than to be super-aggressive, and so I suspect he’ll bring the fight to Harris. That should play into the hands of ‘The Big Ticket’, as he looks like the faster fighter and he’s somehow the more clean and technical striker too. If this one goes the distance I’ll be gobsmacked, but I’m taking Harris comfortably.

The Pick: Harris via first round TKO