UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler - Predictions and Picks

Robbie Lawler faces Colby Covington in a pivotal Welterweight bout this weekend
Robbie Lawler faces Colby Covington in a pivotal Welterweight bout this weekend

#5 Scott Holtzman vs. Dong Hyun Ma

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Dong Hyun Ma is one of the UFC's most exciting brawlers
Dong Hyun Ma is one of the UFC's most exciting brawlers

Another fight that doesn’t necessarily have much divisional relevance, this one is on the main card largely due to the presence of Dong Hyun Ma, who has established himself as one of the most exciting fighters on the roster. Initially brought in as a late replacement on the UFC’s first card in Korea, ‘The Maestro’ made his name in an epic slugfest with Polo Reyes in 2016, and since then he’s been involved in further brawls with the likes of Damien Brown and Devonte Smith.

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Sure, the Korean has lost as many UFC fights as he’s won, but in all honesty, it doesn’t really matter – he’s wildly entertaining to watch and will probably have a job with the UFC for years to come due to his brawling style.

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Opponent Scott Holtzman hasn’t been anywhere near as exciting as ‘The Maestro’ in his UFC tenure thus far; 6 of his 8 fights have gone the distance and last time we saw him on the main card, he was involved in a largely dull outing against almost a mirror image in the form of Darrell Horcher.

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‘Hot Sauce’ is essentially a wrestle-boxer, but his striking largely lags behind his grappling as we saw him tagged numerous times by Nik Lentz – hardly a noted striker – in their fight in February. So for me, this fight should come down to whether Holtzman can ground Ma without being dragged into trading with him on the feet.

Given that Ma comes from a pretty strong judo background – even if we haven’t seen a lot of his grappling in his UFC tenure outside of his win in 2016 over Brendan O’Reilly – I actually think he might be able to fend off the grappling of Holtzman, and on the feet I think he’s got the power and striking combinations to give ‘Hot Sauce’ a lot of problems – particularly as he’s tough as leather and won’t go down without a fight.

The Pick: Ma via third-round TKO

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Edited by Vikshith R
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