| Tale of the Tape | Mahamed Aly | Alik Lorenz |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 5-1 | 7-2 |
| Age | 32 | 29 |
| Height | 6’3″ | 6’2″ |
| Reach | ? | 75.5″ |
| Hometown | Alexandria, Virginia, US by way of Brazil | Phoenix, Arizona, US |
| Combined Opp. Record | 47-50-1 | 30-27 |
| Gym | One Way Martial Arts | MMA Lab |
| Championships | n/a | n/a |
Shawn Bitter- These guys fought last season, and both lost in 30 seconds or under. Aly lost to Iwo Baraniewski, and Lorenz lost to Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, so no shame in those losses. With that said, getting washed that quickly shouldn’t warrant you a fight next season. With both chins a big concern, it’s hard to be confident either way. If I take the chin out of it, I’m super confident in Aly. He’s much better everywhere, and honestly I still see him having success in the UFC. Maybe he uses that grappling background, but I think he could break down Lorenz on the feet. I got Aly by KO in round one, and they doubled their Contender Series fight time.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
Cedric Dumas– Pairing two fighters who were both knocked out in under a minute on Contender Series last year is certainly an unusual way to decide who gets a UFC contract.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
Nicholas Holt- I promise Mick Maynard there’s more heavyweight talent out there than the guys we’ve already seen get brutally knocked out in the first minute, but here we are anyway. Mahamed Aly is the more skilled fighter, and his ground game could be the difference maker if he actually chooses to use it. It’s heavyweight, so of course anything can happen, but Lorenz hasn’t beaten anyone of note, and I don’t rate his skills at all. This is a dumb fight- find some new blood, please.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
Patrick Danna- Really funny fight considering both guys got absolutely obliterated in seconds on DWCS last year, albeit against the two best light heavyweights from last season. Despite having an incredible BJJ background that could probably cause issues at 205lbs, Aly prefers to sit on the feet and strike, cause why wouldn’t he? In all seriousness, Aly carries legit power in both his punches and kicks, but has serious defensive issues. Lorenz has a resume almost exclusively consisting of first-round knockouts over .500 fighters. He does train at the MMA Lab, but you’d never know it. Big power and wide punches, but sloppy striking and a suspect chin.
If I knew Aly was willing to use his grappling in this fight, I’d be a lot more confident with my pick. However, he hasn’t shown he will and may opt into a close striking match with Lorenz that’ll likely end when one lands something big clean. If that’s the case, it could truly be 50/50, but Aly’s potential BJJ and top game makes me take him.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
Chase Gurotsky- This fight pisses me off, so I’m going to keep it short. Both guys are DWCS vets and coming off brutal KO losses. The only slack I will give them is that both guys they lost to have proven to be the future of the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division. Since then, both fighters have gotten a win back with first-round TKOs. However, both of their opponents were below .500; therefore, they didn’t deserve this shot. It’s really hard to pick in this one. My cynical side thinks this will be an extremely boring decision fight, but I hope it’s not and one guy gets a nasty KO, even if that means one of them gets a UFC shot just to be cut two fights later. Tapology picks seem to be strongly for Aly, but I am leaning towards the younger fighter, Lorenz.
Pick: Lorenz by Round 1 KO/TKO
Xavi Ryder- This is an interesting pair of fighters to bring back, as they both got smoked in round one of their first Contender Series fight, and Aly is 32. However, both lost to guys who are currently terrorizing the UFC light heavyweight division. Each man has gotten back in the win column against an opponent with a negative record since their Contender Series losses. The biggest difference is Aly’s wealth of high-level grappling experience, but he hasn’t used it in MMA. I do also think Aly is the better striker, but Lorenz is a big guy with power, so if he lands first, he could get the win. Other than that, though, I just don’t think Lorenz is UFC level, so I’m gonna go with Aly.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
Drew Beaupre – These two light heavyweights lasted less than a minute combined when they both appeared on DWCS last year, but we’ve also already seen Iwo Baraniewski and Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev repeat those same sort of performances in the UFC.
I probably would have liked to see both guys get at least a couple more wins before being invited back to DWCS, but talented light heavyweights are hard to come by and this may be the last shot for both men to get into the UFC given that they’re already 32 and 29, respectively.
Coming from a very successful grappling background, Aly has largely relied on his striking to get things done during his MMA career. Lorenz also packs some power, but Aly should hold the advantage wherever this fight goes and just needs to avoid getting caught by anything too substantial.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
Cangrejo Ruiz– A battle between two returners, both back after one can crush, so opinion from last year is still the same. I still rate Aly higher given his background and athleticism, while Lorenz is a lot less dangerous compared to Iwo. Aly can look again for the KO; I don’t think he will get bonked this time.
Pick: Aly by Round 1 KO/TKO
