UFC Fight Night 133 card: Dennis Bermudez vs Rick Glenn full fight preview

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight scrappers Dennis Bermudez and Rick Glenn will brawl this Saturday (July 14, 2018) at UFC Fight Night 133 inside CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho.

Bermudez was on the verge of breaking into the title mix last year before getting flattened by the returning “Korean Zombie.” Bermudez jumped right back into the cage in an attempt to rebound, but unfortunately he came up short twice more by the thinnest of margins. Alternatively, Glenn jumped at the chance to make a short-notice UFC debut a weight class up, resulting in a gutsy loss. He dropped back to Featherweight and picked up a pair of solid wins, but a defeat to fellow UFC: “Boise” athlete Myles Jury halted his attempt to climb the 145-pound ladder.

Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man:

Dennis Bermudez
Record: 16-8
Key Wins: Max Holloway (UFC 160), Clay Guida (UFC on FOX 12), Tatsuya Kawajiri (UFC Fight Night 83), Rony Jason (UFC Fight Night 92)
Key Losses: Chan Sung Jung (UFC Fight Night 104), Ricardo Lamas (UFC 180), Jeremy Stephens (UFC 189), Darren Elkins (UFC on FOX 27)
Keys to Victory: Bermudez is an aggressive and punishing fighter. The wrestler pushes a hard pace, grinds for double legs, and clubs his opponent with short power shots. He’s also known for his heavy low kicks, which can quickly limit a fighter’s mobility and leave him vulnerable to the aforementioned clubbing.

This has real potential to be an exciting fight, as both men are generally willing to take a shot to give one. There’s high fight of the night potential here, but seeing as Bermudez has lost his previous three, he needs to focus more on winning than excitement.

Victory calls for takedowns. Glenn is a lanky fighter good at using his range in the clinch and in extended wrestling exchanges, but he can still be caught standing tall and forced onto his back. Bermudez is already low to the ground, so he just needs to get in range and throw punches. When Glenn answers, Bermudez should be looking to drive through into his hips and gain top position.

In an otherwise close fight, a couple takedowns can be the difference.

Rick Glenn
Record: 20-5-1
Key Wins: Gavin Tucker (UFC 215), Phillipe Nover (UFC 208), Georgi Karakhanyan (WSOF 10), Johnny Case (MCC 29)
Key Losses: Myles Jury (UFC 219), Lance Palmer (WSOF 16), Evan Dunham (UFC Fight Night 94)
Keys to Victory: Glenn has the build of a long range kickboxer, and he’s certainly comfortable there, but he tends to do his best damage in close. Glenn’s physical strength is formidable in the clinch, where he locks foes down and blasts with knees, and he’s an absolute terror if able to gain top position.

Given the size and style match up, Glenn wants this fight to take place at two ranges: Kicking and the clinch. Since he’s a Southpaw, Glenn has a relatively easy path to doing damage at range: the Southpaw double threat of the left kick and left cross. Of course, Bermudez will not hang around at the end of those strikes forever, he’ll look to close the distance sooner rather than later. As mentioned, it’s important for Glenn to be careful when attempting to plant and attempt to counter, as he doesn’t want to give Bermduez an easy double leg entry.

Counter uppercuts and knees, though? Go for it. Alternatively, Glenn could attempt to latch onto the double-collar tie when Bermudez pushes forward, as that’s a position he tends to dominate.

Bottom Line: It should be a lot of fun.

For both athletes, this fight is a chance to prove they’re worthy of a Top 15 ranking. That’s a very hard position to come by at 145 pounds, one Bermudez recently lost. The true first step to going on any kind of title run in getting a number beside your name, and that’s very possible what’s on the line in this match up.

The other downside of being in such a talent-rich division is that there is little room for error. Bermudez started quite high up in the division before his losing streak, which is the reason he’s still on the fringe of a ranking. Still, a fourth straight loss could even put his position on the roster in jeopardy, although hopefully UFC would consider his quality of competition. As for Glenn, he’s less established inside the Octagon and does not want his UFC record to drop below even.

At UFC Fight Night 113, Dennis Bermudez and Rick Glenn will duel. Which man will have his hand raised?