Preview: UFC 288 Prelims

Heavyweights

Parker Porter (12-8, 3-3 UFC) vs. Braxton Smith (5-1, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Porter (-170), Smith (+145)

Porter signing with the UFC in 2020 was a pleasant surprise. A regional vet who was around long enough to be an early opponent for Jon Jones, Porter had been quietly successful but was not the type of talent that seemed on the verge of a call-up at 35 years old. Porter has a rock-solid pressure game with a lot of the right ideas but little of the requisite heavyweight physicality or durability, which figured to quickly hit a ceiling at the UFC level. That feeling was only further confirmed by a quick debut loss to Chris Daukaus, but Porter went on to find a surprising amount of success from there, with three straight decision wins over Josh Parisian, Chase Sherman and Alan Baudot. Unfortunately, luck turned against Porter in his last two fights, quick blowout losses to standout grappler Jailton Almeida and knockout artist Justin Tafa. Porter’s entire UFC run has been playing with house money, but it would be nice to see him extend it a bit longer with a win against a promotional newcomer. Smith is the rare heavyweight with a frame even stouter than Porter’s, but “The Beautiful Monster” is worth the flier. He lost a one-off fight to Sherman in what was the professional debut for both men back in 2014 but returned about a year ago and has knocked out all five opponents since. Smith clearly has heavyweight-level knockout power despite a lack of clean form, but everything else is a question mark, including his ability to fight beyond a few minutes. Porter is at risk of a knockout loss once again, but the UFC veteran looks like the much more proven and trustworthy fighter. The pick is Porter via second-round stoppage.

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