Chinese welterweight Kenan Song (14-4, 7 KOs, 6 SUBs) will meet Derrick “D-Rock” Krantz (23-11, 10 KOs, 11 SUBs) at UFC on ESPN+ 15 on Saturday, August 31, 2019 at the Unversiade Sports Arena in Shenzhen, China. The card airs live at 10pm ET.
These days, life at welterweight can be tough. Like the UFC’s lightweight division, the 170-pound weight class is filled with killers throughout the ranks. For somebody like Kenan Song, a Chinese native with only three UFC fights, just getting spots on a main card is a really big deal. This Saturday, he’s got a chance to make a major statement on his native soil in a matchup against Derrick Krantz.
Song was picked up as part of the UFC’s effort to make a push into the Chinese market, and he picked up two straight knockout wins to reward his new bosses. However, in his most recent outing against Alex Morono, the 29-year old got busted up for two straight rounds before dropping a clear decision. The loss seems to imply that Song’s ceiling doesn’t rise much higher than the fringes of the weight class - though he’s young enough to improve.
Derrick Krantz is coming off a loss in his UFC debut, but the circumstances could not have been more difficult. Filling in on just a few days notice for Neil Mangy, “D-Rock” was tabbed to fight the red-hot Vicente Luque. As a huge underdog, Krantz actually did better than expected, charging forward, ringing Luque’s bell and taking his back. Luque was able to right the ship and quickly took care of business within the same round, but Krantz lived up to his reputation as a fun action fighter.
While this isn’t a definite win-or-go-home matchup, we might not see the loser for a while - such is the life for UFC hangers-on. Let’s break down the matchup along with the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu. Live UFC betting at the online sportsbook gives you the option to make wagers while the fight is taking place.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kenan Song -115
Derrick Krantz -115
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: +145 / -185
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Song 4.25 / Krantz N/A
Accuracy: Song 45% / Krantz N/A
Absorbed per minute: Song 5.52 / Krantz N/A
Defense: Song 54% / Krantz N/A
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Song 0 / Krantz 0
Takedown accuracy: Song N/A / Krantz N/A
Takedown defense: Song 50% / Krantz N/A
Submission average: Song 0 / Krantz 0
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It’s nice to see Krantz inside the octagon - he’s got more than a decade’s worth of pro MMA experience fighting in the best regional promotions outside the UFC. Peep his resume and you’ll see a number of respected opponents like Andrey Koreshkov, Derek Campos, Brock Larson and Kyle Bradley. If you recall, Koreshkov is a former Bellator champ, while the other guys fought in the UFC.
Kudos to Song for relocating from China to Jackson-Wink in Arizona. While Asia has produced some fine fighters, the best training camps are here in the states - and Song chose one of the highest level teams in the country. There were a lot of things he needs comprehensive work on, namely terrible takedown defense, but you figure he is going to improve training alongside the likes of Jon Jones, Holly Holm and other elite fighters. It’s fair to question whether he belongs in the UFC but back-to-back knockouts of Bobby Nash and Hector Aldana at least shows he has natural knockout power.
UFC Odds Pick: Krantz to win at -115
It’s difficult to make a winning pick when both fighters have such little UFC experience to draw on. While we don’t like picking against a guy whose shown improvements at a top camp, Song hasn’t shown enough improvement on the ground to be a safe bet. Krantz has faced a better overall level of competition throughout his career and should figure out a way to win here.
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