Preview: UFC Fight Night 214 ‘Rodriguez vs. Lemos’

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Lightweights

Grant Dawson (18-1-1, 6-0-1 UFC) vs. Mark O. Madsen (12-0, 4-0 UFC)

ODDS: Dawson (-215), Madsen (+185)

Two prospects get the right test here. Of course, it feels a bit odd to call Madsen a prospect at 38 years of age, even if the shoe fits. Madsen has only been a full-time mixed martial artist since 2018, spending years representing his native Denmark as an Olympic wrestler, including a silver medal run in 2016. As a result, it has been a race against time for Madsen to build out his game beyond those wrestling skills, and to his credit, he has been a quick learner. His first two UFC fights were almost entirely about his skills on the mat, but Madsen mostly outboxed Clay Guida in 2021 and put together a relatively complete victory over Vinc Pichel in April, showing fundamentally sound striking and blending in his wrestling in a slow-paced decision win. Up next for “The Olympian” is Dawson, who has certainly taken the opposite path, turning pro at age 20 and getting signed by the UFC at age 23. Dawson is also a wrestling-heavy fighter, but unlike Madsen’s cautious and technically sound style, he prefers to weaponize his pace, looking to quickly overwhelm his foes, work for submissions and then try all over again if that process fails. It has yet to lead Dawson to a loss inside the UFC, though there have been some close calls, mostly thanks to his tendency to exhaust himself. A draw against Ricky Glenn about a year ago was particularly risky, as the former World Series of Fighting champion nearly turned a huge third round into a finish. It is a concern that Dawson’s aggression and pace could make Madsen uncomfortable and take the Dane out of the fight. However, it does seem likelier that Madsen can shut down a lot of Dawson’s most successful tools, particularly on the mat; if nothing else, Madsen’s wrestling game favors control and should slowly sap the energy out of Dawson as the fight drags on. The pick is Madsen via decision.

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Rodriguez vs. Lemos
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The Prelims