Gore almost surely made it to the UFC much too early, but there is
still some potential for him to turn the corner while on the
roster. Gore was a standout on the most recent season of “The
Ultimate Fighter”—he earned a spot in the final before being unable
to compete due to injury—mostly thanks to his impressive
physicality. His UFC debut in February against season winner
Bryan
Battle laid bare the flaws in his game. Gore shows some nuclear
knockout power at times, but takes a low-output approach that just
gives away rounds when he is unable to find a finish. With some
more experience, Gore should be able to hone his craft in a way
that is truly dangerous, but it might be an uphill battle inside
the Octagon, as the UFC represents a huge jump up from Gore’s
previous fights, which were against the absolute lowest level of
regional competition. He could still make something happen against
Brundage, however. Brundage is another relatively raw fighter in a
familiar mold, a former wrestler who has done a solid job building
out his striking game. Even so, he still relies greatly on his
ability to take his opponents down. To his credit, Brundage looks
to have the requisite heart to gut through whatever obstacles come
along his path. He got stopped by William
Knight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020 but worked
through exhaustion in an ugly loss to Nick
Maximov in his UFC debut and withstood an absolute beating to
score a come-from-behind guillotine over Dalcha
Lungiambula in March. Brundage still has a relatively
straightforward approach and should meet Gore head-on, which could
get him absolutely obliterated. However, between the durability he
has shown and Gore’s worrying inability to pull the trigger at
times, the bet is that Brundage can establish a wrestling advantage
early and get the ball rolling to a win before things start to go
south. The pick is Brundage via second-round submission.
UFC News & Features
