Preview: UFC 321 Prelims

Heavyweights

Hamdy Abdelwahab (6-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Chris Barnett (23-9, 2-3 UFC)

BETTING ODDS: Abdelwahab (-360), Barnett (+285)

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Barnett’s UFC career has already been more successful than expected, but there’s still the chance he can manage to pull out another win or two near what figures to be the end of his career. The coronavirus pandemic saw the UFC sign a lot of fighters that didn’t fit the company’s usual mold, none more so than Barnett—a cult favorite who made a name for himself during an over decade-long globetrotting career. Barnett is 5-foot-9 and has fought over the heavyweight limit at times, cutting a singular figure for mixed martial arts even before factoring in his actual fighting style, based on surprising opponents with his shocking amount of athleticism. Barnett’s two UFC wins thus far were must-see moments, as he knocked out Gian Villante with a spinning wheel kick and finished Jake Collier in a wild war. However, there’s a sense that his body might have started to betray him. After the Collier win, Barnett was out of action for two years, and he was recovering from an Achilles injury when he took on Kennedy Nzechukwu—an assignment that resulted in a quick knockout loss in which Barnett was clearly hobbled. Now 39 years old, Barnett is likely in the closing stretch of his career, but he might still be able to make some magic happen against Abdelwahab. “The Hammer” was a solid flier for the UFC in 2022 as a former Olympic wrestler for Egypt who scored a few quick knockouts to get on the promotion’s radar. Abdelwahab hasn’t really turned the corner towards any type of high-level performance, typically plugging away for three rounds, all while looking slow and fading down the home stretch of his fights. Even so, he has been durable, and while he’s certainly plodding enough to get shocked by Barnett, the lean is that the Egyptian can work hard and survive until his counterpart eventually overextends himself physically. The pick is Abdelwahab via second-round stoppage.


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