UFC 123 – George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon Prediction

Fight Overview:  Two of the Lightweight division’s most accomplished submission experts go at it.  Both guys are great on the ground, and near the top of the Lightweight pack, so this should be a competitive bout.

Lauzon’s Strengths:  Lauzon has excellent submissions, serviceable wrestling, and technically sound boxing.

Lauzon’s Weaknesses:  He can’t dominate wrestling exchanges and has no power on the feet, making only one part of his game particularly dangerous.

Sotiropoulos’ Strengths:  Sotiropoulos has great jiu-jitsu, very effective wrestling, and great technical boxing.

Sotiropoulos’ Weaknesses:  He hasn’t shown any real glaring holes in his game so far.

The Verdict:  This fight is a really good stylistic matchup for Sotiropoulos.  Both guys are world class on the ground, but Sotiropoulos has much better standup and wrestling, which means he will control the striking exchanges and that this fight won’t go to the ground unless he wants it there.  Expect this fight to consist mostly of Sotiropoulos beating Lauzon to the punch on the feet for a one-sided unanimous decision.

Fight Prediction:  George Sotiropoulos by Unanimous Decision.