Billy Goff (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is looking to go 2-0 in the Octagon when he meets Trey Waters (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) for his sophomore UFC appearance at UFC St. Louis on Saturday, May 11.
Goff finished Shimon Smotritsky on the Contender Series and rode that momentum into a TKO win over Yusaku Kinoshita in his UFC debut last August.
Waters, meanwhile, inked a UFC deal after his LFA win over Jalin Fuller and then defeated Josh Quinlan via unanimous decision in his Octagon debut.
Goff acknowledged Waters’ advantages in height and reach: He’s 6 feet 5 inches with a 77-inch reach compared to Goff, who is 5 feet 10 inches with a 72.5-inch reach.
“He’s a tall, lanky guy,” Goff said of Waters. “He’s a good boxer who quickly transitions to jiu-jitsu, so I can’t just walk in and grapple or anything. He’s always in the fight. He’s had a couple of late-fight finishes to come back. He’s never fully out of it. I believe I’m better, and I believe I have the skills to get past the disadvantage in height and reach. I’m shooting for the first-round finish, but I’m always prepared for 15 minutes of hell.”
Waters had similar advantages in his win over Quinlan. Goff said his takeaway from Waters vs. Quinlan is that Waters…
