Former 2 Piece Promotions Heavyweight Champion Lucas Armand will try to pull off a sizeable upset this Saturday at UFC 332 when he makes his promotional debut against Anthony Wint.
Following a 6-2 amateur career where he secured all of his wins via finish, Armand turned pro in late 2024 and got his hand raised via decision for the first time. That matchup with Jonathan Martin is the only time the 30-year-old has seen the judges’ scorecards as a pro. The 30-year-old stopped his next two opponents and claimed the 2PP heavyweight belt in June of last year, successfully defending it twice before he got the call to face Wint in Salt Lake City.
Armand typically likes to take the center of the cage right from the opening bell and will often open things up with a 1-2 combination, which is his primary weapon on the feet. He tends to start swinging a bit more recklessly if he extends punching exchanges beyond this, although he’s also found success with a rear uppercut when he has opponents covered up and used that punch to set up a finish of Cameron Graham his last time out.
“Do or Die” will temper his forward pressure significantly if he gets caught by a counter shot, and when working more at distance he’ll mix his jab up to both the head and body while throwing out kicks to the inside and outside of his opponent’s lead leg. He’ll also occasionally mix in a step up kick to the body with his lead leg, but he hasn’t been able to land it with any major impact in his pro fights.
Armand will also spend a lot of time moving back and forth laterally if he isn’t trying to come forward on an opponent, but despite that his opposition thus far has also had a fairly easy time backing him up to the fence. The 30-year-old will look to reverse this position while landing knees to the thigh and body, but overall he can be a bit too comfortable with just settling into clinch exchanges on the cage for an extended period.
Even without looking at the lopsided betting odds, there’s little doubt that Armand has been handed a tough task for his promotional debut. The UFC is clearly invested in Wint’s potential, and there’s going to be a pretty significant gap in athleticism when the two heavyweights enter the cage in Salt Lake City.
Armand is going to be the significantly bigger man in the Octagon on Saturday, but the ease with which lesser opponents have been able to send him retreating to the cage doesn’t bode well against Wint. He also doesn’t seem to possess the kind of devastating one-shot power that can be the great equalizer at heavyweight and would provide a potential path to victory if he came out aggressively to try and find a finish.
My expectation is that Wint will be able to put Armand on the back foot without too much effort. Even if “Bow Down” doesn’t decide to take things to the mat, I think he’ll just be able to pour volume on Armand if he covers up and can’t find a comfortable opening to try and answer with counter shots. Brutal debut matchup aside, the length of Armand’s UFC career will depend heavily on how the promotion elects to match him up after this.
