Curtis Blaydes vs Junior Dos Santos Predictions, Picks, UFC Fight Night 166 Odds

by Tony Sink - 1/16/2020

Curtis Blaydes vs Junior Dos Santos

UFC Fight Night 166

PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Curtis Blaydes will enter the Octagon with Junior Dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 166 in PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, January 25, 2020. The line has Blaydes at -250 while Dos Santos is coming in at +210.

Curtis "Razor" Blaydes looks to add a victory to his career record of 12-2-0. The 28-year-old weighs in at 265 lbs and stands in at 6' 4". The orthodox fighter stretches 80". Junior "Cigano" Dos Santos measures in at 6' 4" and will fight at 238 lbs. The orthodox fighter comes into this bout holding a record of 21-6-0. The 35-year-old has a reach of 77". In the category of significant strikes, Curtis Blaydes is landing 3.69 per min and Junior Dos Santos lands 4.76 significant strikes per min. Blaydes connects on 51% of the significant strikes he tries while Dos Santos is landing 48%. In terms of defending in the cage, "Razor" allows 1.90 significant strikes per min and "Cigano" takes 3.09. Blaydes also defends 55% of the significant strikes that are aimed in his direction while Dos Santos stops 58% of the shots thrown.

Concerning grappling, Curtis Blaydes is the more apt grappler as he takes his opponents to the canvas 7.05 times per 3 rounds. Blaydes is scoring a takedown on 60% of his attempts and is stuffing 25% of all takedowns attempted by his opposition. Dos Santos is finishing his takedown attempts on 55% of his takedown tries and thwarting 80% of the attempts against him. In terms of submissions, Blaydes is the less likely of the two fighters to go for the finish by trying 0.1 submissions per 3 rounds while Dos Santos looks to get 0.4 submissions per 15 minutes.

In his previous fight, Curtis Blaydes faced Shamil Abdurakhimov and took home the victory by way of an elbow to the head in round 2. Abdurakhimov landed 3 of 8 total strikes that he threw in that fight. Blaydes ended the night having landed 46 of 74 total strikes. In the category of significant strikes, Abdurakhimov landed 3 of 8, which means his percentage was 37%. He finished the fight landing 3 of 7 significant strikes aimed at the head. On the other side of the Octagon, Blaydes ended up landing 58% of his significant strikes by landing 25 of 43. Of those significant strikes, he landed 23 of 41 pointed at the head. 100% of the significant strikes connected on by Abdurakhimov and 8% of them connected on by Blaydes were thrown at distance.

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In the last fight for Junior Dos Santos, he went up against Francis Ngannou and took a loss on the night by a punch to the head in round 1. Ngannou landed 55% of the significant strikes he tried at a distance and Santos ended up landing 100% of his significant strikes at distance. Santos connected on 66% of his significant strikes attempted by connecting on 4 of 6. He connected on 1 of 3 significant strikes directed at the head. Ngannou ended up landing 9 of 19 significant strikes in that battle. Of all the significant strikes, he landed 5 of 14 directed at the head. Relating to total strikes attempted in that contest, Ngannou landed 9 of 19 while Santos ended up landing 4 of 6 of all the strikes he attempted.

Other bouts on the card to watch

One more match to look forward to is when Rafael Dos Anjos encounters Michael Chiesa. Dos Anjos walks into the Octagon with a mark of 29-12-0. The 35-year-old is fighting at 170 lbs and stands in at 5' 8". The southpaw fighter has a reach of 70". Chiesa measures 6' 1" and records a weight of 170 lbs. The southpaw fighter holds a career record of 16-4-0. The 32-year-old stretches 75". When it comes to grappling, Rafael Dos Anjos takes his opponents to the mat 1.89 times per 15 minutes while Michael Chiesa is able to score a takedown 3.55 times per 3 rounds. When it comes to striking, Dos Anjos tags his opponents 3.57 strikes/minute and is landing 45% of the strikes that he throws. The other fighter in this bout is Michael Chiesa, who tags the opposition on 41% of the strikes he has tried and connects for an average of 2.28 per min.

If you're going to be watching the fights, don't miss when Alex Perez is set to square up in the Octagon with Jordan Espinosa. Espinosa has a record of 14-6-0. The 30-year-old steps on the scale at 125 lbs and stands in at 5' 6". The orthodox fighter has an arm span of 69". Perez comes in at 5' 6" and records a weight of 125 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a win to his record of 22-5-0. The 27-year-old has a wingspan of 65". Concerning wrestling, Jordan Espinosa curbs 100% of the takedowns his opponents try and is taking his opponents down on 20% of the times he tries. Perez is taking his opponents to the mat on 47% of his attempts and is able to prevent 87% of all takedown tries against him. In the matter of striking, Espinosa is taking 3.18 strikes/min and he dishes out 4.52 per min. Perez, on the contrary, is taking 3.11 strikes per minute and connects on 4.68 per min.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Curtis Blaydes (-250)

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Curtis Blaydes vs Junior Dos Santos UFC Predictions & Tips - 1/25/2020

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