UFC 155: Will Costa Philippou be able to stop ‘The Barbarian’?

Lots of eyes will be watching closely as Costa Philippou and Tim Boetsch meet at somewhat of a middleweight crossroads. The two men will battle to determine who will enter the upper echelon of the UFC’s middleweight division.

Many would argue that Tim Boetsch has already proven that he deserves consideration as a title contender at 185, but he seems content to keep on fighting whoever the UFC send his way. Maybe he feels that the fight experience will help him further down the line when a title shot is on the cards, or he may just have his focus set on beating the next opponent, no matter who it is, who knows?

We can all agree that Tim Boetsch is on an impressive run, and making the switch down to middleweight back in 2011 was a wise decision that has paid off big time. Both Philippou and Boetsch are riding four fight winning streaks, but it is safe to say that Tim has faced a higher level of competition. In his last two fights alone Boetsch has defeated former middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami, scoring a surprising comeback TKO victory in the third round. In his most recent outing Tim earned a split decision win over Hector Lombard, who was on a 24-fight winning streak at the time.

Costa Philippou’s winning streak consists of victories over Jorge Rivera, Jared Hamman, Court McGee and Riki Fukuda. While he may not have beaten Okami and Lombard, Costa has still stepped into the octagon with some of the toughest guys in the world and come out on top consecutively. This run shows that Philippou is ready to take things to the next level and prove to the UFC, the fans and himself that he has what it takes to challenge the top guys in the division.

Both men prefer to stand, so that is where I think we will see the majority of the fight take place. Boetsch has high level wrestling skills as a former NCAA division one competitor, but many feel that Philippou has an underrated BJJ game that could come into play if needed. This should be a great fight, both guys have heavy hands, so don’t be surprised if someone gets knocked out.

Boetsch vs. Philippou will be part of UFC 155’s main card, which will air LIVE on PPV starting at 10 p.m. ET. The event takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, on December 29.

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