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UFC 116: George Sotiropolous vs. Kurt Pellegrino
2021-07-06
The two lightweights will make for an interesting fight on July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Both are small, of course. Kurt Pellegrino, a native of New Jersey, measures in at just 5 foot 8 and 155 pounds. George Sotiropolous, a native of Australia, also weighs in at 155 pounds but owns a two-inch height advantage at 5 foot 10. The two are also similarly aged.
Sotiropolous, nicknamed “The Wizard of Oz”, has little training in wrestling but learned from some of the best MMA fighters in the field of Brazilian ju-jitsu, much to the joy of UFC betting.
Pellegrino, on the other hand, has an extensive wrestling background but is also trained in Brazilian ju-jitsu. The two are each fairly new to the world of UFC, as Pellegrino first fought for the UFC in UFC 61 but didn’t earn his first win until UFC 64, and Sotiropolous first fought for the UFC in an April 2008 Fight Night event in which he TKO’ed Roman Mitichyan.
Each of the two fighters’ overall MMA records are very solid, with Pellegrino holding a 21-4 overall record and Sotiropolous’ record a pristine 12-2.
They have never fought against each other, but the two fighters’ recent records can go a long way toward determining who should be expected to win this bout.
The thing is, they both have been very efficient in the Octagon of late. Since he beat Mitichyan in 2008, Sotiropolous has not lost a UFC bout, beating his last three opponents — George Roop, Jason Dent and Joe Stevenson.
Pellegrino has won his last four fights, dating back to September 2008. Two of those victories came by the same form of submission, a rear naked choke that has become a specialty of Pellegrino’s.
In Pellegrino’s ten-match UFC career, only three fights have gone the full final minutes — and he’s won two of them. Only one of Sotiropolous’ four bouts have gone the distance.
So what can you expect out of the fight when Sotiropolous and Pellegrino meet on July 3? Two things. One, Pellegrino will attempt to wrestle his way out of everything Sotiropolous attempts. He has proven — especially in his fight against Josh “The Dentist” Neer last year — that he can withstand damage and outlast fighters, even when his effort is questionable as it was during that fight. And two, Sotiropolous will attempt just about everything, as he typically does in his bouts. The Australian fighter is just about as well-rounded as they come in UFC, and if past fights mean anything, it’s likely he will be able to find something that neutralizes Pellegrino’s wrestling and ju-jitsu focus.
Essentially, expect the two fighters to be abnormally well-prepared to face each other, and expect Pellegrino to do his best to outsmart Sotiropolous, but Sotiropolous may just be the favorite because of his ability to pull a variety of moves out of his bag of tricks.
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