At 6-foot-5, Nzechukwu cuts an impressive figure, but he was still
particularly raw upon hitting the UFC, even after two appearances
on Dana White’s Contender Series. Nzechukwu is technically sound
enough at this point, especially given his physical gifts, but he
has been held back by his inability to find a second gear. A
three-fight winning streak saw him draw opponents like Carlos
Ulberg and Danilo
Marques, who each burned themselves out while Nzechukwu
survived on his way to a late comeback. However, two straight
losses have shown the flaws in that approach. Da Un Jung
simply finished Nzechukwu before he even got the chance to rally,
while Nicolae
Negumereanu never flagged to let Nzechukwu back into the fight.
At about the six-year mark as a pro, this seems like the time where
things would finally click for Nzechukwu. Roberson is in a similar
spot as a fighter who essentially learned on the job in the UFC,
though “Baby K” dabbled in kickboxing to go along with his brief
mixed martial arts record before getting signed. Despite that
background, Roberson is rarely all that dynamic on the feet. He is
a consistent striker who, if anything, prefers to take things to
the mat more than he should, often getting himself in trouble. The
end result is a jack-of-all-trades package in which Roberson really
depends on having an advantage everywhere in order to have success.
He can get undone against opponents who can either match him
athletically or just take him apart in one phase of the fight. That
makes this a coin toss, as Nzechukwu certainly has the tools to
make things happen but not the disposition. If things finally come
together for Nzechukwu, he can make his opponent uncomfortable and
turn this into some easy work. However, based on Nzechukwu’s prior
fights, this feels more like a lukewarm striking match in which
Roberson can try some ideas but never find himself particularly
challenged. The pick is Roberson via decision.
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