I think Linderman's stand up is a sloppy mess.
Davis was killing him in the clinch until the heavy shots swung the bout. Linderman hits hard, but he is slow and has poor balance. Leans with every shot.
HOWEVER, I agree with you on his wrestling.
I watched footage (on youtube) of him slamming Mike Hayes all over the cage.
Linderman was much more impressive against Hayes, in my opinion, than he was against Raphael Davis.
Linderman trains wrestling with Rick Story - that might help him win this one.
Tough fight to call.
Both seem to be in good shape at the weigh in. I haven't seen Hale in a long bout, so maybe Linderman can wear him down.
But I see Hale has only been stopped once, at heavyweight in his second pro fight. Recently, since dropping to light heavy, he had a competitive bout with Antwone Britt. I gotta think Britt is more dangerous on the feet than Linderman.
Hale seems to be the guy Bellator is pushing - he was ringside last weekend, and has done several radio interviews this week. I can't find even one article on Linderman.
Hale's been a pro for 2 years longer than Linderman (since 2006).
Hale is a full time fighter, where as I think Linderman has taken time away from his day job to train for the tournament.
I am leaning Hale here. But it's hard to state with too much confidence, having only seen a bit of these two fighters.
