UFC on ESPN+ 58: Gore vs Battle - Prediction & Analysis - 02/05/22
Bryan Battle vs Treason Gore
Treason Gore (3-0-0) made it to the finals in the most recent TUF against Bryan Battle but had to pull out due to knee injury. Battle went on to win the show by defeating replacement Gilbert Urbina. The UFC has rebooked what should have been the real finals for this card. “Mr. Vicious” went into the show with 3 wins and then defeated Ryder Newman (decision) and the aforementioned Gilbert Urbina (KO).
As mentioned, Bryan Battle (6-1) took home the TUF series tournament win. Currently, only 2 of his 9 fights (TUF included) have made it to the judges as he typically wraps up submissions before the final horn.
“Pooh Bear” will stand 1 inch taller than Gore for this one. Once more, reach numbers aren’t available for Gore for some strange reason.
How They Match Up
Sort of a striker vs grappler match up for this one. What’s interesting is both fighters last bout was against Gilbert Urbina and they both secured finishes via their specialty (Battle via choke and Gore via knock out).
What I liked about Battle was his ability to stay composed while exposed to inauspicious positions. He largely lost the grappling exchanges in that fight, and several times almost ended up mounted. But he was given one solid opportunity and he made no mistake in turning the fight the other way. I also liked that even after some grueling grappling, he still had some zip on his punches with decent technique while noticeably fatigued.
He’s going to really need to get his grinding grappling game going in this fight though to sap his opponent. On the feet, Gore will most likely get the better of him, especially early. With the two routes to victory laid out, I have to say I like Gore’s a lot better. He’s going to hold huge athletic advantages as well as a solid size advantage (he used to be a light heavyweight and you can see it in his frame). So, I’m leaning toward Battle’s takedown attempts not being super successful.
Both guys are very green though so I expect lots of mistakes with chances for one man to exploit the other’s weaknesses, which means this really could go either way. Combine this with the fact Battle has just the kind of heart and toughness to hang around and have success late, and you could make a solid argument for “Pooh-Bear”. But ultimately I’m going to very slightly lean towards Mr. Vicious to come out ahead.