UFC Fight Night 58: Keys to Victory for CB Dolloway

The main event of UFC Fight Night 58 is a bout that’s outcome will either completely reshape the landscape of the middleweight division or give us more of the same. Former title challenger, Lyoto Machida and C.B. Dolloway are scheduled for five rounds to finish off the night in Sao Paulo, Brazil and at the end of those five rounds, we’ll have a new challenger for the title heading into 2015.

Dolloway has been fighting professionally since 2006 and has been in the UFC since 2008. To remain in the UFC for that long is an accomplishment in and of itself, but he has never broken into the contendership conversation; and never been considered a top five fighter in the division. With an overall record of fifteen wins and five losses, it seems as though every time he gets a more notable challenger, he fails to get his hand raised. Though he has fought some top talent in the division, Dolloway is stepping into uncharted territory on Saturday night when he faces Machida. Here are his keys to victory if he is to defeat his greatest challenger to date.

Calculated Aggression

Machida is a dangerous finisher, but in order for Dolloway to win this fight, he is going to have to put the pressure on him early on and maintain it through out the fight. If he allows this Machida to be comfortable, he will get picked apart on the feet. Dolloway can strike too, but in order to be effective against Machida, he will have to threaten with take downs while staying out of harms way.

Utilize Reach Advantage

Dolloway has a slight reach advantage over Machida, but an advantage none the less. while he must be aggressive and threaten consistently with takedowns, he must also move in and out of the pocket efficiently. Machida is a great distance fighter, so this will be a difficult challenge for Dolloway. It’s a critical that he avoid Machida’s strikes at all cost while getting off enough offense to tire the former champion.

Grapple 

On paper, this fight is much closer than odds makers would have you believe. There is certainly a variance in the level of talent that these two men have faced, but C.B. appears to have a slight edge in the ground fighting department. Though his takedown accuracy is lower than Machida’s, he lands more per fight, has a higher take down defense rate, and submits more of his opponents than his opponent. Dolloway won’t be safe anywhere this fight goes, but his best chance at a victory is to take Machida down and threaten with submissions.