Preview: UFC 317 Prelims

Heavyweights

Jhonata Diniz (8-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Alvin Hines (7-0, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Diniz (-305), Hines (+245)

Diniz was unable to break into the UFC’s heavyweight rankings in his last fight, but the Brazilian is still one of the more interesting fliers that the UFC has taken recently to help fill out the weight class. A longtime kickboxer, Diniz has fast hands and a willingness to trade, which has helped him consistently outwork and knock out his opponents. However, he’s also only a shade more than three years removed from his mixed martial arts debut, so he has expectedly had issues facing wrestlers and grapplers. The UFC has surprisingly decided to test those weaknesses rather than match him up in slugfests, and while he was able to get past Austen Lane and Karl Williams, Marcin Tybura proved capable of absorbing Diniz’s offense and eventually dominated him enough on the mat to earn a stoppage. After a few other matchups fell through, Diniz looks for a bounce-back win against a UFC newcomer in Hines, a decent enough heavyweight prospect. Hines is raw and nearing his mid-30s—less of an issue at heavyweight than other divisions—but he has heavyweight size and has improved a bit from fight to fight, to the point that he now looks fairly solid in most aspects by regional standards. Hines is a willing striker with some solid wrestling to back things up and has at least proven able to take a punch; and while his gas tank is still a clear issue, he does a better job of fighting through exhaustion than one might expect. Unfortunately, Diniz is also a massive step up in competition from the regional heavyweight scene, so there’s not much to suggest that Hines is ready for the level of offense that’s coming his way, particularly with the UFC veteran being both a fast and practiced striker. The pick is Diniz via first-round knockout.


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Hermansson vs. Rodrigues
Delgado vs. Amil
Cortez vs. Araujo
McKinney vs. Borshchev
McVey vs. Ewert
Diniz vs. Hines
Smith vs. Price