Preview: UFC Atlanta Prelims

Flyweights
Cody Durden (17-7-1) vs. Jose Ochoa (7-1, 1 N/C)

Odds: Ochoa (-180), Durden (+150)

Georgia native Durden gets a tricky but fun matchup here on home soil. The UFC's flyweight division has historically been a shark tank, and Durden's served a valuable role in terms of cutting the wheat from the chaff at 125 pounds. A 2020 signing, Durden came to the UFC with the expected game of someone that ran over weak regional competition, typically charging forward and figuring out the rest later. After some setbacks, Durden's generally done a better job of staying out of danger, showing some solid striking to go with what can be a powerful wrestling and grappling game - but his defensive awareness is still often lacking at times, particularly on the mat. With that said, Durden can hang athletically in the UFC's most athletic division and last gave Joshua Van a tough fight in a result that continues to age well - so he can still potentially run over the lower half of the UFC roster at 125. The question is where exactly Ochoa stands in the flyweight pecking order, as the Peruvian comes off an impressive -- though unsuccessful -- UFC debut.

Ochoa comes out of the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team that's been prolific in terms of sending all-action fighters into the UFC's lighter divisions, and he fits right into their typical mold of pursuing offense and figuring out the rest later. On the regional scene, Ochoa showed some sneaky grappling compared to his teammates, but otherwise looked like a prospect that could use a lot more high-level experience -- which made it impressive when he went tooth-and-nail with Lone'er Kavanagh in November, as Kavanagh's both a standout athlete and one of the best flyweight prospects in the world. It's still unclear if Ochoa has the horsepower to turn into a truly successful fighter in the UFC -- at least at this point -- but he should continue to remain dangerous over the course of three rounds. It's a coin flip as to whether or not he can turn that into a comeback win here, but Durden's defensive struggles feel like enough to make the Peruvian worth the flier. The pick is Ochoa via second-round submission.

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