During his time on TUF, Battle offered a profile similar to another late pick that won the competition at middleweight before dropping down to welterweight, Kelvin Gastleum, showcasing a strong foundation of skills and abilities, but also plenty of room to grow as he continues to mature, and, so far, he’s on the right track.
Saturday’s pairing with Ange Loosa is another key test for “The Butcher” — a matchup against an explosive, compact welterweight riding high off consecutive victories and looking to keep moving forward while halting his opponent’s ascent. He carries big power and throws smoke, and we have seen Battle get clipped a time or two, which creates some additional intrigue here.
Saturday’s Full Fight Card Preview
Battle is in an interesting position, because the welterweight division is extremely deep, which affords him the opportunity to keep progressing in his development without getting thrown into the fire. A third straight win and fourth victory in five starts at this weight would certainly merit a step up in the future, so it will be interesting to see how much he’s progressed since September and what that produces this weekend.
Mike Davis
The depth of the lightweight division allows talented competitors to exist in the background despite consistent success inside the Octagon, and when you mix in infrequent appearances, an athlete can slide even further back to where some might lose sight of them entirely.
But it would be a mistake to not pay close attention to Davis this weekend and going forward.