Preview: UFC Vegas 107 Prelims

Welterweights

Andreas Gustafsson (11-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Trevin Giles (16-7, 7-7 UFC)

ODDS: Gustafsson (-166), Giles (+140)

After a few false starts and opponent switches, Sweden’s Gustafsson finally gets his chance to bring some violence to the Octagon in this 180-pound catchweight affair. “Bane” is an absolute tank of a welterweight, typically looking to cause damage and figure out the rest later. He can get stalled out at points, but Gustafsson’s regional career has mostly been a combination of bloodbaths and knockouts, the latter of which includes the finish that earned him a spot on the Contender Series in August. At 34 and with his single-minded approach, it’s unclear if Gustafsson has much upside, but he should provide a good time every time out, including in this UFC debut. Giles’ UFC career has been a series of streaks, and “The Problem” is currently on a losing skid with three straight losses, albeit against a strong level of competition as a prospect-tester. Giles has plenty of physical gifts as a knockout artist with some impressive wrestling and grappling, but he’s almost always been undone by his lack of defensive awareness. Things are typically going well up until the point that they go off the rails, usually in the form of Giles getting caught with a finish at a point when he believes himself to be defensively safe. He did at least survive to the final horn in a slow-paced fight against Mike Malott in November, but it’s hard to pick Giles against someone as potent and aggressive as Gustafsson. The pick is Gustafsson via second-round knockout.

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