Men’s Bantamweights
Cody Gibson (21-11; 3-6 UFC) vs. Qileng Aori (25-12, 1 NC; 3-4 UFC)A pair of frankly struggling bantamweights share some prime card space here, as “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 finalist Gibson and Mongolian veteran Aori claw their way towards .500 in the UFC.
For what it’s worth, Gibson is more competitive than that dismal 3-6 mark in the Octagon might imply. He returned to the UFC through “TUF” and has gone 2-3 since, looking generally competitive every time out. He is a big bantamweight and, even at 38, still a decent athlete. He is well-rounded, but squanders some of his physical advantages by getting into close-quarters brawls with shorter, faster foes. As a jack of all trades, he can come up short against specialists who drag him into their world, as Da'Mon Blackshear did in March, bulldozing Gibson on the ground.
Many of the same things could be said about Aori. The “Mongolian Murderer” is also big for the division, also capable of solid technical striking but also prone to getting drawn into slugfests where opponents can take advantage of his defensive lapses. And like Gibson, Aori is good everywhere, but susceptible to opponents who are great somewhere and can bring it to bear, as Raul Rosas Jr. did in his last outing.
That having been said, Aori’s performance against Rosas Jr. was encouraging in some ways, as he entered the cage as a 10-to-1 underdog but didn’t look like one, giving the super-prospect and grappling prodigy a very tough fight. Aori came out with a solid game plan, clearly knew where his danger spots were and what he needed to do to win, and while it didn’t end in a victory, it was an example of fighting to his best advantage in a tough matchup.
Considering that is a bout between two fighters who are talented but don’t always put their best foot forward, that’s enough to make me lean cautiously towards the upset. This figures to be a fight in which all three rounds are competitive and maybe even hard to score, and the idea that Aori might avoid a brawl, or shoot a timely takedown, to secure just one of those rounds, is telling. The pick is Aori by decision.
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Gibson vs. Aori
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