Jamahal Hill doesn’t see Jan Blachowicz having too much success grappling Carlos Ulberg at UFC Fight Night 255.
Former champion Blachowicz (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) meets rising light heavyweight contender Ulberg (12-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at The O2 (ESPN+).
Blachowicz used his wrestling to beat Ulberg’s City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya at UFC 259, where he was able to land three takedowns en route to a unanimous decision win. However, Hill is confident that Ulberg’s takedown defense will hold up.
“I don’t think that Jan is just going to be able to just go in and bully Ulberg to the ground,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “I believe he’s had a lot of work and he’s showed some good prestige as far as the ground goes. Plus, he’s more athletic, he’s younger, he’s got a lot more bounce in his legs.
“I believe that it’ll be hard to keep him down – if he can get him down. That’s how Blachowicz should try to approach it: Leg kicks, possibly try to get him to the ground, and work from the top position there. But Ulberg standing, his package is kind of wide open. Also, Ulberg body kicks – body kicks for both.”
Blachowicz will look to rebound after a split draw against current UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev, followed by a split decision loss to ex-champ Alex Pereira. Meanwhile, Ulberg is on a seven-fight winning streak, with five of those wins coming by finish.
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