Preview: UFC Fight Night 182 Prelims

Heavyweights

Alexander Romanov (12-0) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (17-6-1)

ODDS: Romanov (-320), Rogerio de Lima (+260)

Rogerio de Lima’s run as a light heavyweight was most notable for how fast his fights were over, win or lose. “Pezao” would come out swinging with powerful strikes and reliably either knock out his opponents or implode when they provided any sort of resistance. Given that style, his eventual move to heavyweight made sense, though he suddenly decided to reinvent himself as a wrestler in the process. He shockingly grinded out a decision win against Adam Wieczorek before getting tapped by Stefan Struve. Thankfully, the Brazilian was back to his heat-throwing ways in a brawl against Ben Sosoli in February, and he will look to serve as the next test for an intriguing prospect in Romanov. On paper, Romanov’s resume raises a bunch of red flags, as it is full of quick wins over whatever the best competition “King Kong” could find in his native Moldova. However, film on Romanov reveals he is actually an interesting talent. The most noticeable Romanov trait? Massive size, as he is obviously in the process of working himself into shape. However, he is a surprisingly quick and agile fighter. While his striking game is not particularly effective at the moment, he shows a Derrick Lewis-like ability to throw some wild kicks for a man his size. Still, the strength of Romanov’s game—as his UFC debut against Roque Martinez showed—is his grappling, as he has shown an ability to swarm and throw around his opponents, even if they are as massive as Martinez. There are still obviously some questions about Romanov—namely his durability, a necessity at heavyweight—but he is an extremely interesting talent, and as long as he does not get blasted by Rogerio de Lima in the opening moments of this fight, he should be able to get another impressive win. The pick is Romanov via second-round submission.

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