UFC on Fuel TV 5: Pickett vs. Jabouin

Brad Pickett (22-6) vs. Yves Jabouin (18-7)

Heavy favorite Brad Pickett will fight Yves Jabouin in the lone bantamweight bout on UFC on Fuel TV 5’s main card.

Pickett was once a star on the WEC circuit and since transitioning to UFC is just 1-1. He lost to the talented Renan Barao in his first bout, but beat Damacio Page in his second effort. Jabouin is also a WEC-UFC convert who lost his first UFC bout. Since then, however, he has won three straight. The likelihood of this fight ending before the final bell is pretty great. Just five of Pickett’s 22 wins have been decisions, while only six of Jabouin’s 18 wins have gone to the judges. And Pickett is understandably a favorite here because he has fought slightly tougher foes, but that does not justify the heavy action heading to him. That is especially the case given that Jabouin, with 11 career knockouts, can end a fight at any point. Take the money in this one and play on JABOUIN.

At 5-foot-6, Pickett is an exciting fighter whose game is centered around boxing. But even though his nickname is “One Punch,” Pickett is not afraid to take a fight to the ground, where he has excellent takedown skills to try and control the pace. His success on the ground was evident in his last fight, a submission victory against Page. But his ability to be exploited there was apparent in his submission loss to Barao. He must be patient and try to draw Jabouin into making a mistake, something he has been prone to do.

A point of concern for “Tiger” Jabouin could be that in his three UFC wins, he has yet to earn a knockout. He owns two split decisions, over Ian Loveland and Walel Watson, and a unanimous one most recently against Jeff Hougland. Jabouin is a striker by trade, but is also a solid wrestler. He will not be afraid to take this to the ground if Pickett wants it fought there. Jabouin’s reckless decision making have outweighed his potential in the past, but he is a risk worth taking as such a heavy underdog.