Given his journey to get here, it would be nice to see Parisian put
together some momentum in the UFC. Parisian stepped in on late
notice for a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 and
figured to have earned a contract with a quick knockout via
spinning backfist. Instead, Parisian was put on the cast for the
next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he lost his first
bout. From there, Parisian plugged his way through the regional
scene for two years before finally getting a contract via DWCS in
2020, and his UFC career thus far has been a mixed bag. Parisian is
a large man with a game that can be creative but never particularly
deep, so if he cannot find a knockout, things usually tend to
devolve into a slog where he needs to outwrestle his opponent to
make much headway. That has been a dicey proposition, but Parisian
has managed to alternate wins and losses through four UFC bouts,
most recently pounding out Alan Baudot
for a win on the ground in June. A subsequent pairing against
Chase
Sherman was scrapped due to some career-threatening medical
issues on Parisian’s side, but apparently all is well as he looks
for the first winning streak of his UFC career against Pogues.
Another two-time DWCS alum, Pogues was a bit of a surprising
signing in August. He is a young heavyweight prospect with some
potential, but his win was the result of a flat performance where
he showed some decent boxing but also got his legs kicked apart for
the better part of 15 minutes. Pogues’ rough life story likely
played a factor in his getting a deal, and again, he certainly has
some talent. However, his frame and his game seem much
better-suited to light heavyweight, where Pogues has proven to be a
bully as opposed to his dicier performances at heavyweight. He
could still wrestle his way to a win in this assignment, but in a
fight that figures to involve a lot of smothering, Parisian looks
like both the stronger physical force and the fighter more willing
to make something happen. The pick is Parisian via ugly
decision.
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