Given that both fighters are strong grapplers, no one should be surprised if we’re privy to some mat time in this Saturday’s main event.
For my money, the man who will engage in the grappling first will probably be Hermansson.
Coming from a solid base in Greco-Roman wrestling, Hermansson has a decent variety of trips and tosses he looks to set up whenever he is not unloading in the dirty boxing department. Keen on upper-body attacks, Hermansson works well from the body lock while using slick foot sweeps for assists, but is not beyond changing levels to hit reactive shots in space.
However, I’m not sure that Hermansson will have the easiest time trying to take down Pyfer, who appears well-schooled in the wrestling and grappling realm.
Training at Marquez MMA (home to fighters like Sean Brady and Pat Sabatini), Pyfer has a solid stable and staff to work with – and it shows.
From Pyfer’s ability to sniff out shots in space to the strength of his own takedowns, the 27-year-old’s natural abilities appear to translate well in closed quarters. And when the American can get on top, he displays powerful strikes and passes that open submission opportunities.
Still, Pyfer can’t afford to underestimate a grappler like Hermansson in this space.
Although Hermansson’s title of ‘best ground-and-pounder’ is self-proclaimed, it is far from a joke for the man who fights out of Norway.
A superb transitional grappler, Hermansson is a heavy top player who can seamlessly ride and pass under the guise of unforgiving ground strikes – a process that has helped him secure victories over credentialed black belts.
Hermansson also has an impressive guard game that he keeps in his back pocket, but I’m sure that those ideas are something he’d rather not have to rely on here. Outside of the leg lock games that can catch some MMA fighters by surprise, Pyfer seems like a well-schooled submission grappler who doesn’t ‘say Uncle’ easily.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie