UFC Vegas 85 continues with a fight between Themba Gorimbo and Pete Rodriguez. Gorimbo finally got his first UFC victory in his most recent fight, while Rodriguez had two fight cancellations due to an illness and a botched weight cut in the last year and will now be making his second walk to the octagon after a 16-month layoff. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Gorimbo-Rodriguez prediction and pick.
Themba Gorimbo (11-4) had a tough UFC debut that saw him get finished in the second round via guillotine choke to former UFC fighter AJ Fletcher. However, he was able to get back into the win column and his first inside the octagon in his next fight when he defeated Takashi Sato via unanimous decision. Now, Gorimbo will get the dangerous Pete Rodriguez in an attempt to get on his first winning streak in the UFC this weekend at UFC Vegas 87.
Pete Rodriguez (5-1) got the call-up to the UFC on short notice after four consecutive first-round knockouts but unfortunately, he had the daunting task of going up against Jack Dellas Maddalena who knocked him in under three minutes. However, he was given a layup in his next fight when he brutally knocked out Mike Jackson in less than two minutes. Now, after an illness and a botched weight cut kept him out of competition for 16 months, he gets to come back to get his second victory in the UFC as he takes on Themba Gorimbo this weekend at the UFC Apex.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
Themba Gorimbo: -258
Pete Rodriguez: +210
Over 1.5 rounds: +120
Under 1.5 rounds: -150
Themba Gorimbo is the first UFC fighter from Zimbabwe and was the former EFC Welterweight Champion over in Africa before getting signed to the UFC. He was originally scheduled to face off against Billy Goff in his UFC debut but Goff had to withdraw from the bout and then was pitted against AJ Fletcher who he succumbed to via guillotine choke. Gorimbo was however able to get back on track in his next fight against Takashi Sato and now will attempt to get on his first winning streak in the UFC when he takes on Pete Rodriguez.
Gorimbo is one of the taller and longer welterweights and will have a significant size advantage over the much smaller Pete Rodriguez. While Rodriguez may be small in stature, he packs a heavy punch that could certainly knock out Gorimbo. With that said, Gorimbo will need to utilize that length to stay on the outside of the strikes of Rodriguez and then time takedowns to take the fight to the mat where he has a massive advantage. If he can avoid the kill shots from Rodriguez and utilize his grappling he can either control Rodriguez for a large portion of the fight or potentially find the submission.
Pete Rodriguez got his short on short notice after four consecutive first-round knockouts when he took on top welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena who knocked him out in the first round. He was able to get back on track with a much more forgivable matchup when he knocked out Mike Jackson in brutal fashion. This will be Rodriguez’s first fight in 16 months after withdrawing from a fight against Natan Levy twice in 2023.
Rodriguez will be at a distinct disadvantage at range having to navigate a 6″ reach disadvantage when he goes up against Themba Gorimbo. However, he does have some legit striking abilities with incredible knockout power that if he finds Gorimbo’s chin he can certainly put his lights out. If Rodriguez can go in there and get within boxing range while defending the takedowns he has a legit chance of landing one flush on the chin of Gorimbo getting him out of there for his sixth knockout victory.
It’s hard to expect this fight to see the judge’s scorecards. Gorimbo has finished seven of his eleven wins six of which have come by submission meanwhile, Rodriguez has finished all five of his wins by knockout. If Rodriguez can avoid getting put on his back he has a legitimate chance of making it six knockouts in six wins but expect Gorimbo to utilize his grappling in this fight getting Rodriguez down and using those long limbs to snatch up a d’arce choke to get his second win in his UFC career.
Final Themba Gorimbo-Pete Rodriguez Prediction & Pick: Themba Gorimbo (-258), Under 1.5 Rounds (-150)
