Volkan Oezdemir vs Aleksandar Rakic UFC Point Spread Picks - 12/21/2019

Volkan Oezdemir vs Aleksandar Rakic

UFC Fight Night 165

Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Volkan Oezdemir will face off against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Fight Night 165 in Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea on Saturday, December 21, 2019. The opening line has Oezdemir at +145 while Rakic is coming in at -175.

Volkan "No Time" Oezdemir steps into the Octagon with a mark of 16-4-0. The 30-year-old will fight at 205 lbs and stands in at 6' 2". The orthodox fighter stretches 75". Aleksandar Rakic stands in at 6' 4" and steps on the scale at 205 lbs. The orthodox fighter will be looking to add a victory to his career record of 12-1-0. The 27-year-old extends his reach 78". Regarding significant strikes, Volkan Oezdemir is connecting on 5.04 per min and Aleksandar Rakic is landing 5.25 significant strikes per min. Oezdemir is connecting on 46% of the significant strikes he throws while Rakic is connecting on 52%. When it comes to the fighter's defense, "No Time" takes 3.93 significant strikes per minute while Rakic takes 1.63. Oezdemir also thwarts 57% of the significant strikes that are aimed in his direction while Rakic is able to deflect 50% of the shots thrown his way.

Related: Gambling 101 Series - How Odds are Calculated - Docs Sports

When it comes to wrestling, Volkan Oezdemir is the lesser skilled wrestler as he takes his opponents down 0.48 times per 15 min. Oezdemir is taking his opponents to the canvas on 22% of the times he tries and thwarting 76% of takedowns his opponents have tried. Rakic is scoring a takedown on 60% of the takedowns he tries and stuffing 88% of the tries against him. In terms of subbing opponents, Oezdemir is not as skilled of a technician by going for 0.3 subs per 15 minutes while Rakic goes for 0.6 subs per 15 min.

In his previous fight, Volkan Oezdemir fought Ilir Latifi and ended up winning this fight via a punch to the head in round 2. Latifi ended up landing 20 of 62 total strikes that he let go in that fight. Oezdemir ended the night having landed 92 of 166 total strikes. In the category of significant strikes, Latifi ended up landing 18 of 60, which gave him a rate of 30%. He ended up landing 16 of 54 significant strikes to the head. In terms of stats for the opponent, Oezdemir ended up landing 46% of his significant strikes by landing 64 of 137. Of all the significant strikes, he landed 44 of 114 to the head. 94% of the significant strikes landed by Latifi and 73% of them landed by Oezdemir were tallied at distance.

Related: Get UFC picks & tips

In the last fight for Aleksandar Rakic, he fought Jimi Manuwa and wound up taking home the victory via a kick to the head in round 1. Manuwa ended up connecting on 90% of the significant strikes he tried at a distance and Rakic connected on 80% of the significant strikes he attempted from distance. Rakic ended up landing 28% of his significant strikes attempted by connecting on 2 of 7. He landed 1 of 5 significant strikes directed at the head. Manuwa landed 2 of 3 significant strikes in that contest. Looking at the significant strike accuracy, he landed 1 of 2 to the head. Discussing total strikes attempted in that fight, Manuwa landed 2 of 3 and Rakic ended up landing 2 of 7 total strikes.

Other bouts to keep an eye on

An additional bout that shouldn't be missed is when Dooho Choi takes on Charles Jourdain. Choi comes into this fight holding a mark of 14-3-0. The 28-year-old steps on the scale at 145 lbs and stands in at 5' 10". The orthodox fighter has a wingspan of 70". Jourdain stands 5' 9" and steps on the scale at 145 lbs. The switch fighter will be looking to add a win to his total of 9-2-0. The 24-year-old has a reach of 69". In the grappling category, Dooho Choi takes his opponents down 0.55 times per 3 rds while Charles Jourdain takes his opponents to the canvas 0.32 times per 3 rds. Regarding striking, Choi lands an average of 5.64 strikes/minute and connecting on 53% of the strikes that he throws. Joining him in the Octagon is Charles Jourdain, who connects on 37% of the strikes he has thrown and connects for an average of 3.67 per min.

Another must see fight on the night is when Mike Rodriguez is set to face off against Da-Un Jung. Jung will be looking to add a victory to his total of 12-2-0. The 26-year-old is weighing in at 205 lbs and measures 6' 4". The orthodox fighter has a reach of 78". Rodriguez comes in at 6' 4" and tips the scales at 205 lbs. The southpaw fighter has a record of 10-3-0. The 31-year-old stretches 82". In terms of grappling, Da-Un Jung is stopping 83% of his opponents' takedown tries and is scoring a takedown on 10% of his attempts. Rodriguez is finishing his takedowns on 20% of his tries and is able to prevent 38% of all takedown tries against him. With reference to striking, Jung is absorbing 7.34 strikes per min while he is dishing out 6.76 strikes per minute. Rodriguez, notwithstanding, is absorbing 3.38 strikes/min and deals 4.31 per minute.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Aleksandar Rakic (-175)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Most Recent UFC Predictions

• Karol Rosa vs Vanessa Melo Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Amanda Ribas vs Paige VanZant Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Jessica Andrade vs Rose Namajunas Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Martin Day vs Davey Grant Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Makwan Amirkhani vs Danny Henry Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs Muslim Salikhov Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Petr Yan vs Jose Aldo Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal Predictions, Picks, UFC 251 Odds
• Jordan Griffin vs Youssef Zalal Predictions, Picks, UFC Vegas 4 Odds