I don’t know what we are doing here. 72% of people on Tapology are picking Faglier to win. I get that he’s young, athletic and undefeated, but he is fighting an olympian. Not some bum olympian either, a grappling based olympian that should be able to either defend the takedowns, get his own or submit off his back. The idea that NAIA or D2 wrestling is comparable to the olympics is a bit off to me. obviously they are different sports, but they are both rooted in grappling. I think Javad is too strong, too heavy on top and too good of a grappler to get tossed around here. Javad is the pick, but theres only 11 fights between the two of them so theres still a lot of unknowns here.

Javad Mahjoub

Javad Mahjoub is a powerful ground and pound guy with high level Judo and BJJ accolades. His Judo accolades include competing in both the 2016 and 2020 olympics representing Iran. He is thick, strong and heavy. What’s most impressive is not necessarily his takedowns, but his ability to go from bulldozer to BJJ instantly. He will rain down strikes and fall into an armbar with no warning. You will not see much in the way of striking, not even a bunch of overhands to close the distance. He is pretty quick to eliminate range and start wrestling

Joel Faglier

Joel Faglier is a wrestler who was born into a family of wrestlers and fighters. He likes to list himself as a Karate master, but you don’t see those skills or at stance in his fights. He likes to get calf kicks going before utilizing his wrestling. For a sloppy looking guy he’s pretty quick and athletic. He doesn’t telegraph his strikes and can move in and out of range. He can ratchet up the aggression and loves to work towards ground and pound.