Road to UFC Preview: Lightweights

This is the fourth part of the Road to UFC Preview series, for the first article that explains the whole deal click here

Jeka Saragih vs Anshul Jubli

And here we are with the last of the finals, contested at 155 we have the explosive and experienced Indonesian Jeka Saragih against the long and tricky striker, the Indian Anshul Jubli in a fight that will probably deliver in action.

Jeka Saragih

The dynamic Indonesian comes into the fight as the more experienced fighter, boasting a 13-2 record. He fought his whole career under the regional Indonesian One Pride banner (not to be confused with ONE or PRIDE).

He’s ultra confident and fights with a fair amount of bravado, physically gifted and wild, seems to have a talent to remain calm even in the chaos he himself can create. Despite his experience he’s still a raw product though, lacking very much in depth on the feet and wrestling which he usually makes up for with physicality, and despite being a fighter capable of adjusting his wildness can work against him and leave him open. Thankfully for him he has the grit and the cardio to keep pushing during fights when all else fails.

During his first fight of the tournament, Saragih showed his dynamism on the feet, but also a good eye for finding openings and a lack of polish in his technique

While these might not be the most technical wrestling chops, he also showed huge strength and timing taking his opponent down

Although it was against an overmatched opponent, he showed a good mix of controlling and letting powerful ground and pound go

In his second fight, he showed up a good affinity to attack in combinations, showcasing a sneaky chambered left kick, ability to catch kicks and getting the knockout with a brutal straight right hand

Anshul Jubli

Standing at 6 feet tall and having a long style at range, the Indian striker Anshul Jubli has maybe the sketchiest route to the final as he only won one fight and it was a split decision. But don’t let that fool you, it was a very solid performance from an undefeated prospect in which he had to go into deep waters in a gruelling striking affair against the South-Korean Kyung Pyo Kim. Jubli is all about striking and showed decent takedown defense in his last fight which should give him confidence en route to the finals. He likes to fight behind a long jab and a lovely straight right hand to the body until he can lure opponents into boxing exchanges where he has a predilection for closing the door with his left hook.

Jubli usually stalks his foes around the age with his long range tools until he lures them into exchanging in the pocket with him, where he’s suprisingly effective for a lanky dude

His most reliable tool there is the left hook (both to the body and head) off slipping counter to his right hand

Jubli’s takedown defense might not be stellar but he is very urgent about working his way up to his feet and is good at using momentum after his back hits the mat

What to Expect

It’s a clash of styles in this one, the explosive and wild Saragih against the methodical and long Jubli, both fighters are very confident and it will be all about who gets to dictate the ranges. Saragih is probably more dangerous at long range but he will have to deal with the reach and linear strikes of Jubli. He’s also the biggest hitter but his technical flaws might get exposed by the Indian inside the phone booth. Jubli might have trouble making Saragih stay in the pocket as he usually flees after his combinations, and even though the Indian has decent pressuring footwork, he’s not great at attacking space in combinations. Jubli will probably have to counter Saragih’s entries with combinations if he wants to get any kind of volume going, and punish him from distance with a steady jab. Saragih on the other hand would be well advised to mix up the clinch, the wrestling, attack with his big strikes and don’t overstay his welcome in the pocket. Should be action packed, who do you have winning this one?