Preview: UFC Fight Night 222 ‘Pavlovich vs. Blaydes’

Welterweights

Jeremiah Wells (11-2-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Matthew Semelsberger (11-4, 5-2 UFC)

ODDS: Wells (-110), Semelsberger (-110)

It is hard to call him a prospect at 36 years old, but Wells is one of the more fascinating talents in the UFC's welterweight ranks. At first glance, Wells falls into a familiar archetype as a muscled-up brawler with wild striking who is reliant on finding the early finish. However, there is a bit of an extra wrinkle that makes things work much better than expected for the Philadelphian. Wells is also a solid wrestler and grappler, with crushing ground-and-pound and the ability to find a submission. Admittedly, things still figure to go sideways for Wells by halfway through the second round, but he should be able to make some hay as an absolute terror for as long as his gas tank holds up. Undefeated in his three UFC fights thus far, Wells looks to go for four straight against Maryland’s Semelsberger, another intriguing athlete at 170 pounds.

A former college football player, “Semi The Jedi” did not come to the UFC with much of a focused approach when the company signed him three years into his pro career, but he has done well to figure things out on the job. Semelsberger is still mostly a collection of impressive physical attributes and a grab bag of skills, but he has been able to nuke subpar competition in short order; and a December win over Jake Matthews showed a newfound ability for Semelsberger to keep pressing big moments of offense even when he appears to be in over his head. Even so, he still figures to find himself immediately in danger against Wells’ blitzing attack. The pick is Wells via first-round knockout.

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Pavlovich vs. Blaydes
Tavares vs. Silva
Green vs. Gordon
Lucindo vs. Walker
Wells vs. Semelsberger
The Prelims