UFC 154: Carmont vs. Lawlor

Francis Carmont (19-7) vs. Tom Lawlor (8-4)

Riding an eight-fight winning streak, Francis Carmont returns to the Octagon for a middleweight tilt on the main card of UFC 154 Saturday night.

Carmont’s last three bouts have been his first UFC ones, and after earning a decision against Chris Camozzi, he has earned two consecutive submissions against Magnus Cdenblad and Karlos Vemola. This is Lawlor’s eighth UFC bout after beginning his UFC career with a win on TUF against Kyle Kingsbury. He has struggled lately, however. Although he is coming off an impressive KO against Jason MacDonald, he has lost three of his past five fights. Two of those defeats have been submissions, revealing a weakness in his defenses that Carmont should be able to take advantage of. Even as a significant favorite, play on CARMONT to win this one.

Of Carmont’s 19 career wins, 10 have been submissions while six have been knockouts, so he doesn’t like to ride things out to the final bell. What makes him more impressive though, is that striking makes up the core of his attack so Lawlor cannot just sit in a defensive pose in an effort to defend that. This up-and-comer also owns a three-inch height advantage. He trains alongside welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who fights as the lead bout on this card, and that is no doubt invaluable experience. Carmont should win easily here against a class of foe that he has made easy work of lately.

The 6-foot Lawlor is coming off an encouraging bout, unleashing a huge punch against Jason MacDonald for Knockout of the Night honors, allowing his opponent to stand for just 50 seconds. Prior to that, he earned a respectable decision against Patrick Cote. But before that bout, he fell to both Joe Doerksen and Aaron Simpson. Carmont’s athleticism and attacking variety should pose problems for Lawlor, who has not consistently performed well against this class of opponents. He needs to show more in this bout to deserve action in the future; play against.