All 3 of Montel's UFC losses are because he couldn't defend takedowns. Deiveson bullied him in his last fight, Brett Johns took him down 8 times despite being rocked and Ricky Simon took him down 7 times. So when breaking down this fight we need to decide if Roani is durable enough at his age to work through the power and get his takedowns. I know people hate when I say this, but the facts back it up, Vegas does not care about empty takedowns. If Montel is throwing and looking to finish, a handful of takedowns for Roani with no damage, will not matter. I'm going to lean Montel here, but I am worried that he will be gun shy because he's thinking about the wrestling and if he is doing that, and doesn't deliver damage, then the takedowns will actually matter and this could get weird.

Montel Jackson

Montel Jackson is making a name for himself with his power, but he's a good wrestler who added striking late. He's very well rounded and has a resume full of KOs, decisions and submissions. His takedown accuracy is 62% with an average of more than 3 per fight. Often times people focus on his power and not his wrestling credentials. At one point in time he was at the Olympic Training facility and had hopes to compete at that level. He is coming off the shutout win over Daniel Marcos.

Raoni Barcelos

Roani Barcelos is aging, but still an incredibly well rounded fighter who can get wins at this level. Striking wise, he has great low leg kicks, solid volume and a great pace. Wrestling wise he is a 5 time Brazilian National Champion who averages around 2 takedowns per fight and has a 82% takedown defense. He is good everywhere but is definitely slowing down with age. He is coming off the straight forward win over Cody Garbrandt