Marwan Rahiki

Reasons Hardwick doesn't hit hard enough to hurt Rahiki the way he was hurt on the Contender Series, and expects Rahiki to win comfortably skill-for-skill, while admitting personal dislike of Hardwick could be coloring the pick.

Rahiki strikes behind long, straight punches with probably the bigger raw power of the two, and he can get to good flurries, though he sometimes overswings and opens himself to counters when he does. His kicking is dynamic, and he spins often, which mostly pays off but isn't without risk. On the mat he's dangerous with heavy ground-and-pound and counters incoming takedowns well by turning them into throws that land him on top, and he's diligent about working his way back to his feet whenever the fight winds up on the floor against him.