Elijah Smith

Explicitly says this is far from a lock, leaning toward Smith mainly on the strength of his boxing and his ability to stuff takedowns.

Smith should be the cleaner boxer of the two, with fast hands, a sharp jab and solid combination punching, plus enough pop to matter even though he isn't a natural power puncher. Normally his striking sets up his wrestling, but here he may lean on the boxing alone since it's the opponent who wants to turn this into a wrestling match. His own grappling is plenty capable regardless: fast takedown entries, a powerful double leg, good top pressure while advancing position, and he's shown real force stopping opposing takedowns, including one instance of stuffing and slamming an opponent in a recent fight.