Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Joe Ray
Nah-Shon Burrell (5-1)
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 170 pounds
Wins: 5 knockouts, 0 submissions, 0 decisions
Losses: 0 knockouts, 0 submissions, 1 decision
Joe Ray (5-1)
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170 pounds
Wins: 3 knockouts, 2 submissions, 0 decisions
Losses: 0 knockouts, 0 submissions, 1 decision
Fight Information:
Nah-Shon Burrell has knocked out every opponent in each of his five career wins so far, the most recent coming by way of a knee to Daryl Harris at Cage Fury’s “Seek and Destroy” event in May. He has only gone to one decision in his career, which came as a loss to Christopher Curtis (5-2).
Joe Ray returns to Strikeforce after making his MMA debut for the promotion back in January 2010 when he defeated John Clarke by way of TKO in round 1.
Since that night, he has pushed his career record to 5-1 which includes a win over UFC vet Chad Reiner and a submission over Bellator’s John Kelly.
Like Burrell, Ray’s only loss came by a decision in a tightly contested fight against Jeremy Smith, who was also undefeated at the time.
Fight Prediction:
In a bout between two guys who have not fared well with the judges, it can often come down to which fighter is able to avoid damage the best while finding his own opportunity to strike.
Nah-Shon Burrell has been mostly fighting lower-level local talent thus far in his career and will be up for likely the biggest test against the offensive skills possessed by Ray.
While Ray himself has a lot to work on in the defensive department, his skills in that area have been improving and also been fighting against better competition.
If Joe Ray can avoid being taken down, as he has struggled with before, he should be able to win a standup battle with Burrell.
Joe Ray by knockout, Round 3