Kevin Lee vs Daniel Rodriguez Prediction
August 26, 2021
Kevin Lee -155 vs Daniel Rodriguez
Fight is at 170 lbs and is -125 to end inside the distance.
✅ Kevin Lee makes the move up to welterweight, and this is likely a fantastic move him. The muscular wrestler would have gas issues down at lightweight and I don’t believe he will have any strength or size issues at welterweight. He has a massive wingspan that will easily make up for a relative lack of height. For instance, in this fight he will be at a 5” height disadvantage while having a 4” reach advantage. While these measurements matter to some degree, they won’t matter while the fight is on the mat and Lee is in top position. Lee’s wrestling will easily translate to welterweight and we will see him get the fight to the mat in each round. He will have ample time to work for finishes and I truly believe the difference in this fight will be the grappling of Kevin Lee. If we see more of a standup fight, it becomes something of a coin flip, but that is hardly a worry as Lee takes everyone down. Lee has fought a who’s who at lightweight, and now gets just a warm up in his step up to welterweight.
✅ Daniel Rodriguez will get his first taste of a real wrestler in this matchup. Rodriguez is 5-1 in the promotion and has started off quite well, but Lee’s is a style he is yet to face. We saw his takedown defense falter against Mike Perry, and saw some difficulty returning to his feet. With Kevin Lee, the road to both preventing those takedowns and standing back up is markedly more difficult. Rodriguez will be looking to keep this a stand up striking affair, but sadly for him, he won’t get his wish. Instead he will get worn down on the mat.
✅ This line is far too short and Lee has such a clear cut path to victory. Look for a dominant win and one that sets up a top 10 matchup in just his second fight at the weight class.
