Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson Prediction: How Long Will This Featherweight UFC Bout Last at UFC Fight Night?

Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson Prediction: How Long Will This Featherweight UFC Bout Last at UFC Fight Night?

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Choi vs. Nelson Start Time, Where to Watch, Odds

• Date: Sunday, February 5, 2023
• Start Time: 1:00 a.m. EST
• Where to Watch: ESPN+

Click here for Choi vs. Nelson odds

Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson Prediction

Alas, we finally head over to the potential fight of the night, with "The Korean Superboy" Doo Ho Choi going toe to toe against Canada's own, Kyle Nelson. Before we can get down into the brass tacks of it all, what immediately garnered my attention when looking into the logistics of this matchup is Choi's complete and utter gargantuan sabbaticals between fights. The near three-year gaps between contests can be rather quite alarming if you are not in the know. Still, for those that have a faint perception of the matter, the general consensus for the longest time regarding these sudden departures can largely be chalked up to the mandatory military service that South Korea imposes on their youth and males. 

This is the same problem that the Korean Zombie has faced throughout his MMA tenure as well, with the former title challenger missing a vast chunk of his fighting prime to serve the country amongst other responsibilities that may have arisen as more general time-consuming complications presumably made their way into the forefront. All in all, proving to be detrimental to all-around commitment and training. I understand everybody's case is different, but when your last win was before Conor McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez for his second belt, that should raise some serious red flags in your mind. 

On top of not securing a victory in all these years, I've also noticed that the Korean Superboy has been taking quite a bit of damage in each of his last few stretches of losses. Taking time away from the octagon is good for general recovery and self-preservation after hellacious beatings. Still, I generally doubt that being away from the cage is good for a fighter in the sense that the ability to shake away psychological cobwebs and ring rust goes out the window when you are out of action for so long subsequently. There is no cap, and an ungodly amount of detrimental variables going against The Superboy, I don't think that's up for debate in the slightest. What prevents me from auto-betting his opponent however is the absolute state of the bum. 

Kyle Nelson is a complete and utter jobber with a negative gas tank and even more skillset when it comes to defensive grappling. Sure, he has some solid power for 145, but the unathleticism of this Canadian gentleman leads me to believe that if he can't get Choi out of there in the first five minutes, the man from up north will crumble down the stretch. Because Nelson has a whopping Three post-1 round finish losses in the UFC, I am going to play the under 2.5 as I believe it covers the two most likely scenarios of an early Kyle finish, or a later-minute Superboy onslaught/conclusion. Play the under 2.5 and watch your bank account finally display signs of life.

Doo Ho Choi vs. Kyle Nelson Pick

• Kyle Nelson under 2.5 (-165) Bet $100 to collect $160. DraftKings has the best odds, click here

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