A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ’21, Fletcher carried an 9-0 record with eight finishes into the UFC, but tough matchups with Matthew Semelsberger and Ange Loosa saddled him with consecutive losses out of the chute. He rebounded with a grueling second-round submission win over Themba Gorimbo last time out, and is the kind of explosive athlete that should prompt Battle to mind his Ps and Qs, especially early, on Saturday night.
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In recapping Battle’s season on TUF, I always viewed him as a Kelvin Gastelum type, and not just because he was the final fighter selected. You could see the raw tools, the desire to learn, and the willingness to soak up as much knowledge as possible from Alexander Volkanovski and the elite squad of coaches the featherweight champ brought with him to Las Vegas.
Through his first five appearances inside the Octagon, we’re seeing the early returns from those experiences and everything he’s done since returning home, and a third straight victory this weekend, back where his UFC adventure got underway, should bring about a step up in competition next time out.
