Preview: UFC Atlanta ‘Usman vs. Buckley’

Middleweights
Mansur Abdul-Malik (8-0) vs. Cody Brundage (11-6, 1 N/C)

Odds: Abdul-Malik (-800), Brundage (+500)

The UFC seems rightfully high on Abdul-Malik, even though he's clearly far from being a finished product. A former collegiate wrestler, Abdul-Malik certainly has some aspects of mixed martial arts down, particularly when he's able to get a clear advantage; many of his finishes feature some brutal flurries, most notably some thudding ground-and-pound when Abdul-Malik can get on top of his foes. But thus far, getting there can be a bit of an adventure, as Abdul-Malik still looks like a prospect that doesn't know what he doesn't know, with his game being held together by his horsepower and durability; both his Contender Series win and his UFC debut over Nick Klein saw Abdul-Malik struggle to control things -- and get hit hard at times by Klein -- up until the point that he suddenly took things over and ended the fight. That makes Brundage about the right next step up in competition, as it threads the needle between winnable and dangerous.

Brundage has a well-rounded game, being a former wrestler himself that's built out some solid striking, and he usually does a solid job of game planning for his opponents, coming into things with a specific approach. But if things don't work quickly, Brundage also typically finds himself fighting an uphill battle, as he rarely has much of a backup plan beyond his initial ideas and isn't particularly deep in any particular area of fighting. That's made him a solid gatekeeper and should result in him giving Abdul-Malik a tough fight, at least to start -- and it's not impossible to see Abdul-Malik's lack of defensive awareness walking him into some trouble. But this looks like another Abdul-Malik matchup where his physical advantages will carry him through any struggles, particularly with his ability to break a bout open; the pick is Abdul-Malik via second-round stoppage.

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Usman vs. Buckley
Namajunas vs. Maverick
Shahbazyan vs. Petroski
Garbrandt vs. Barcelos
Abdul-Malik vs. Brundage
Menifield vs. Sy
The Prelims