Stuart Austin is to meet Ante Delija at PFL 5 in a heavyweight regular season bout. Austin fights out of the Titan Fighter Gym which boasts a good roster of hungry heavyweights. He faces Mirko Cro Cop protege Ante Delija, a Croatian knockout artist in the same ilk as his mentor.
Stuart Austin Looks to Bounce Back
Stuart Austin comes into this one on a two-fight skid, making this one a must-win for “He-Man”. The number two ranked heavyweight in the UK and Ireland. He boasts wins over the likes of Japanese legend Satoshi Ishii and UFC title hopeful Tom Aspinall. Austin will face danger on the feet from Delija, but if he can assert his ground game, he very well could shock some with a submission or ground and pound stoppage. He has been fighting for around 15 years now and has never lost three in a row. He managed to break those previous two-fight skids not by taking a backwards step in the competition, but by rising to the level needed.
In his way though is fearsome opposition. Ante Delija is unbeaten in the PFL other than a pair of bouts against Bruno Cappelozza. Cappelozza is the current heavyweight champion and untarnished in the PFL. He is though, the only man to take Cappelozza the distance in the promotion, after previously being knocked out by the Brazillian, showing improvements in his game. Standing at 6 foot 5 and still only 31, Delija will be around for a while to come, but maybe at his most dangerous now.
All the action takes place on Channel 4 in the UK on June 24th. Fellow Brits Stevie Ray and Brendan Loughnane also compete in their scheduled season matches. Delija currently is in fourth place in the heavyweight rankings with five points for his win over Matheus Scheffel, while Austin is in eighth place with zero.
Do you think Austin gets it done?
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