Movsar Evloev vs Mike Grundy Prediction: Fight Island 3 Underdog Play

By Clint MacLean Jul 25, 2020

The last few fight cards including Fight Island 2 we have absolutely been CRUSHING underdogs and hopefully, we can keep that trend rolling. With 15 fights on this card, there are going to be upsets and potentially more than usual because of the extra fights. It’s our job to spot these live dogs and then all we can do is pray to the MMA gods of variance. Let’s take a look at Movsar Evloev vs Mike Grundy prediction.

To learn how I find my underdogs in more detail check out the full article here:

Betting UFC Underdog Trends

Movsar Evloev vs Mike Grundy 0dds

Movsar Evloev is an undefeated Russian prospect who has impressed so far in his UFC run. Movsar is a powerful grappler who is fully capable of finishing the fight or grinding it out over the course of 15 minutes. But everybody has got to take that first “L” eventually. Mike Grundy is a serious Canadian wrestler himself who will cause issues for the undefeated prospect.

Movsar Evloev trains out of two of my absolute favorite gyms in Tiger Muay Thai and ATT and I have been high on this kid for a long time. He combines his grappling well with smooth striking and when presented the opportunity transitions to his opponents back extremely quickly. On the feet, Evloev cuts good angles and has good head movement to disguise his sneaky level changes.

Mike Grundy is a 2009 world wrestling champion and a 2014 Commonwealth bronze medalist. We don’t see many strong wrestlers out of the UK, but Grundy is something special. Grundy uses a boxing heavy style and his hands have been coming along well. He hits hard and keeps a high guard. Grundy may not be a smooth striker yet, but he is improving in that area and the hammers in his hands can make up for his lack of finesse.

Movsar Evloev vs Mike Grundy breakdown

Fight IQ

Grundy knows where he thrives. A life long grappler he is always looking to use his wrestling while becoming a well rounded martial artist to fill out his game. I have yet to see him deviate from his bread and butter except when he has needed to and always circles back around to it. We can expect Grundy to grapple and then mix in his striking until he loses the edge and then it will be right back to grappling. Fight IQ thus far in his career is a check!

Chin

Grundy stood and traded with Nad Narimani in his last fight who may not be the best competition, but a pretty stiff test for your UFC debut. If Nad does anything well it’s that he hits hard and Grundy was wobbled in that fight, but he worked through it and actually managed to flip the tables on Narimani and knock him out instead. So far we have nothing that leads us to believe that Grundy is damaged goods and we do have proof that he can dig deep and fight through being hurt at the UFC level.

After the Fight Island 3 Weigh-In With Clint Maclean

No Quit

Grundy is a lifelong wrestler and a high caliber at that. There is almost nothing as exhausting as wrestling practice and this man has been doing that his entire life and brings that iron will into MMA. There are few people on this planet who have more desire to win than wrestlers. From a young age wrestlers are forged into machines and the ones who refuse to wilt are those who rise to the top of their sport and Grundy has done just that. This man doesn’t know how to give up and I love it.

Power

Grundy absolutely has this piece of the puzzle covered. Grundy has only been to a decision 3 times in his professional MMA career and has finished 75% of his opponents. Not only has he been getting submission finishes all the way to the UFC he is improving in the striking and earned his first KO once he made it to the big stage. Grundy is a fighter who appears to have power in every sense of the word.

Movsar Evloev vs Mike Grundy prediction

Now I know I just spent the entire article talking up Mike Grundy and you know where this is headed, but I cannot discount his opponent Movsar Evloev. I am high on Evloev and fully respect his skill set. I just think this betting line is too wide. So far nobody has been able to compete with Movsar’s grappling and physicality and this might be the first time somebody can stand toe to toe with him in the wrestling department.

I see this fight as a 50/50 and we are getting that beautiful + Monday on Grundy. Movsar is likely the better technical striker of the two, but Grundy has more heat on his punches. When it comes to the pure wrestling I believe that Grundy should have the advantage given his credentials and I believe he can be the first person to force Movsar to take a step back. If we believe a fight is truly a 50/50 then we should be taking this kind of juicy line when flipping that coin every time. Let’s go, Grundy!!

The Pick: Mike Grundy (+162)