Raoni Barcelos vs Said Nurmagomedov UFC Picks & Predictions - 12/21/2019

Raoni Barcelos vs Said Nurmagomedov

UFC Fight Night 165

Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Raoni Barcelos will enter the Octagon with Said Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Night 165 in Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea on Saturday, December 21, 2019. The opener has Barcelos priced at -151 while Nurmagomedov is priced at +129.

Raoni Barcelos steps into the Octagon with a mark of 14-1-0. The 32-year-old is fighting at 135 lbs and stands 5' 7". The orthodox fighter extends his reach 67". Said Nurmagomedov measures 5' 8" and is weighing in at 135 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a victory to his career record of 13-1-0. The 27-year-old has a wingspan of 70". Concerning significant strikes, Raoni Barcelos is landing 5.77 per minute and Said Nurmagomedov is connecting on 4.69 significant strikes per minute. Barcelos is connecting on 53% of the significant strikes he throws while Nurmagomedov is connecting on 59%. When it comes to defending themselves, Barcelos allows 4.85 significant strikes per minute while Nurmagomedov absorbs 1.95. Barcelos also stops 63% of the significant strikes his opponents attempt and Nurmagomedov stops 64% of them.

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Concerning grappling, Raoni Barcelos is the more competent wrestler as he is averaging a takedown 2.46 times per 3 rds. Barcelos is taking his opponents to the canvas on 71% of his tries and defending 75% of all takedown tries against him. Nurmagomedov is taking his opponents to the mat on 9% of his takedown attempts and is defending 90% of the tries against him. Regarding going for the sub, Barcelos is the more skilled of the two fighters by attempting 1.2 finishes per 15 minutes while Nurmagomedov tries 0.5 finishes per 3 rounds.

In his previous bout, Raoni Barcelos fought Carlos Huachin and got a win for the night by an elbow to the head in round 2. Huachin ended up landing 20 of 127 total strikes that he let go in that contest. Barcelos ended the night having landed 70 of 137 total strikes. When it comes to significant strikes, Huachin landed 20 of 127, which gave him a percentage of 15%. He ended up landing 17 of 120 significant strikes to the head. On the other side of the cage, Barcelos ended up landing 47% of the significant strikes he threw by landing 59 of 123. Out of those significant strikes, he connected on 52 of 113 to the head. 95% of the significant strikes landed by Huachin and 38% of them connected on by Barcelos were tallied at a distance.

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In the last bout for Said Nurmagomedov, he squared up with Ricardo Ramos and ended up getting the victory in the fight via a spinning back kick in round 1. Ramos ended up landing 95% of the significant strikes he took from distance and Nurmagomedov ended up connecting on 70% of the significant strikes he attempted from distance. Nurmagomedov ended up connecting on 70% of his significant strikes attempted by landing 17 of 24. He landed 6 of 13 significant strikes to the head. Ramos ended up connecting on 2 of 8 significant strikes in that contest. Of those significant strikes, he connected on 1 of 5 to the head. Discussing total strikes that he let go in that fight, Ramos connected on 2 of 8 and Nurmagomedov ended up landing 17 of 24 of all the strikes he threw.

Other fights to watch

One more match to look forward to is when Heili Alateng meets Ryan Benoit. Alateng holds a career mark of 13-7-1. The 27-year-old is fighting at 135 lbs and stands 5' 5". The orthodox fighter has an arm span of 66". Benoit measures 5' 5" and is fighting at 135 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a win to his total of 10-5-0. The 30-year-old reaches 68". When it comes to grappling, Heili Alateng takes his opponents to the canvas 3.00 times per 3 rds while Ryan Benoit is averaging a takedown 0.24 times per 15 min. In terms of striking, Alateng is landing 2.40 strikes/min and is landing 40% of his attempted strikes. On the other side of the cage you've got Ryan Benoit, who tags his opponent on 36% of the strikes that he throws and is connecting on 2.38 per minute.

If you're going to be watching the fights, don't miss when Amanda Lemos is set to encounter Miranda Granger. Granger walks into the Octagon with a mark of 7-0-0. The 27-year-old is fighting at 125 lbs and measures 5' 7". The orthodox fighter stretches 68". Lemos measures 5' 4" and steps on the scale at 125 lbs. The southpaw fighter steps into the cage holding a record of 6-1-1. The 32-year-old reaches 65". Concerning wrestling, Miranda Granger is preventing 10% of the takedowns her opponents try and is taking her opponents to the canvas on 20% of the times she tries. Lemos is taking her opponents to the mat on 90% of her tries and is able to curb 10% of all takedown tries against her. With regard to striking, Granger is taking 3.67 strikes/minute while she is landing 4.07 per minute. Lemos, on the other hand, takes 12.81 strikes per min and is landing 8.63 per minute.

Who will win tonight's UFC match against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Said Nurmagomedov (+129)

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