Bryan Barberena vs. Jason Witt - UFC Vegas 33 Preview

Bryan Barberena will be kicking off the main card against Jason Witt this weekend at UFC Vegas 33. UFC Vegas 33 will be headlined by Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland. The card has had two different co-main event changes. It is looking like the co-main event will be Rani Yahya versus Kyung Ho Kang barring any issues at weigh-ins.

Bryan Barberena

Bryan Barberena has a professional MMA record of 15-7 with ten of those wins being knockouts. Barberena has a UFC record of 6-5 and has wins over guys like Sage Northcutt, Warlley Alves and Jake Ellenberger in that time. His UFC losses include Colby Covington, Chad Laprise, Leon Edwards, Randy Brown and Vicente Luque. Three of those four losses are against top 15 guys.

Bryan Barberena is a blue belt in jiujitsu under John Crouch. He trains at Gym-O in North Carolina. He has heavy hands and great takedown defense. Barberena will come into this fight with a two-inch height and two-inch reach advantage. This will come in handy with grapple-first Jason Witt at UFC Vegas 33.

Jason Witt

Jason Witt is a former Kansas City Fighting Alliance welterweight champion. In his title run, he had defended his title four times. Witt has also fought with promotions such as Bellator, LFA, and Titan FC. Jason Witt is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, and trains at Glory MMA and Fitness.

Witt holds a professional MMA record of 18-7. He has been knocked out in five of his seven losses. Eight of his 18 wins coming by way of submission and he is 6-0 by decision. Witt is 1-2 in the UFC with his one win being a submission win over Cole Williams. His two losses include knockouts against Takashi Sato and Matthew Semelsberger. Before he got in the UFC, Witt fought MMA veterans such as Cliff Wright, Dakota Cochrane and Isaac Vallie-Flagg.

The Matchup

This fight will be your classic grappler-striker matchup. Witt being a very skilled submission artist and Barberena being a heavy-handed kickboxer. Barberena’s size advantage should help keep the fight standing. If he can keep it standing he should be able to finish Witt who has been knocked out in the majority of his losses. Barberena also is a blue belt in jiujitsu which could help neutralize Witt’s grappling.