Ion Cutelaba vs Magomed Ankalaev UFC Point Spread Picks - 2/29/2020

Ion Cutelaba vs Magomed Ankalaev

UFC Fight Night 169

Chartway Arena in Norfolk, VA

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Ion Cutelaba will battle Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night 169 in Chartway Arena in Norfolk, VA on Saturday, February 29, 2020. The opener has Cutelaba coming in at +220 while Ankalaev is coming in at -260.

Ion "The Hulk" Cutelaba walks into the Octagon with a mark of 15-4-0. The 26-year-old steps on the scale at 205 lbs and measures in at 6'1". The southpaw fighter reaches 75". Magomed Ankalaev stands in at 6'3" and tips the scales at 205 lbs. The orthodox fighter holds a career mark of 12-1-0. The 27-year-old has an arm span of 75". When talking about significant strikes, Ion Cutelaba connects on 5.27 per minute and Magomed Ankalaev is landing 3.32 significant strikes per min. Cutelaba is landing 39% of the significant strikes he tries and Ankalaev is connecting on 56%. When it comes to defending in the Octagon, "The Hulk" takes 3.16 significant strikes per min and Ankalaev absorbs 1.15. Cutelaba also defends 49% of the significant strikes his opponents attempt while Ankalaev curbs 68% of them.

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Regarding grappling, Ion Cutelaba is the better wrestler as he is able to score a takedown 2.62 times per 15 min. Cutelaba is taking his opponents to the canvas on 71% of the times he tries and is stuffing 80% of all takedown tries against him. Ankalaev is finishing his takedowns on 33% of his takedown attempts and stopping 85% of all takedowns attempted by his opposition. Regarding going for the sub, Cutelaba is the lesser skilled fighter by going for 0.3 finishes per 3 rds while Ankalaev goes for 0.5 finishes per 15 minutes.

In his previous fight, Ion Cutelaba went up against Khalil Rountree Jr. and ended up winning this fight via an elbow to the head in round 1. Jr. ended up landing 5 of 12 total strikes that he let go in that fight. Cutelaba walked away from this fight having landed 16 of 27 total strikes. In terms of significant strikes, Jr. landed 5 of 12, which gave him a percentage of 41%. He ended up landing 4 of 11 significant strikes to the head. On the other side of the Octagon, Cutelaba landed 57% of his significant strikes by landing 15 of 26. Of those significant strikes, he landed 14 of 25 aimed at the head. 60% of the significant strikes landed by Jr. and 6% of them connected on by Cutelaba were tallied at distance.

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In the last Octagon appearance for Magomed Ankalaev, he squared up with Dalcha Lungiambula and took home the win via a kick to the head in round 3. Lungiambula landed 83% of the significant strikes he tried at a distance and Ankalaev ended up landing 52% of the significant strikes he attempted from distance. Ankalaev ended up connecting on 65% of his significant strikes attempted by landing 44 of 67. He ended up connecting on 28 of 45 significant strikes to the head. Lungiambula landed 6 of 26 significant strikes in that contest. In terms of accuracy for the significant strikes, he landed 4 of 23 aimed at the head. Relating to total strikes attempted in that contest, Lungiambula ended up landing 13 of 33 and Ankalaev was 91 of 123 total strikes.

Other bouts to watch

An additional bout that shouldn't be missed is when Mike Davis battles Giga Chikadze. Davis looks to add a win to his career record of 8-2-0. The 27-year-old will fight at 145 lbs and measures 6'0". The orthodox fighter has an arm span of 72". Chikadze comes in at 6'0" and records a weight of 145 lbs. The orthodox fighter will be looking to add a win to his career record of 8-1-1. The 31-year-old reaches 74". When it comes to grappling, Mike Davis gets his opposition to the mat 0.77 times per 3 rds and Giga Chikadze gets a takedown 0.51 times per 15 minutes. When it comes to striking, Davis lands an average of 5.87 strikes/minute and connecting on 54% of the strikes that he attempts. On the other side of the cage we have Giga Chikadze, who lands 52% of his attempted strikes and connects for an average of 3.33 per minute.

Another bout to watch is when Tom Breese is set to enter the Octagon against Brendan Allen. Allen will be looking to add a victory to his total of 13-3-0. The 24-year-old is fighting at 185 lbs and stands in at 6'2". The orthodox fighter has an arm span of 75". Breese stands in at 6'3" and weighs in at 185 lbs. The southpaw fighter looks to add a victory to his record of 11-1-0. The 28-year-old reaches 73". When it comes to takedowns, Brendan Allen is preventing 66% of the takedowns his opponents go for and is taking his opponents to the mat on 42% of the times he tries. Breese is taking his opponents to the mat on 10% of the tries he takes and is able to deflect 72% of the takedowns his opponents try. In the category of striking, Allen is absorbing 3.58 strikes per minute while he is dishing out 2.00 strikes per min. Breese, moreover, is absorbing 2.57 strikes/minute and is connecting on 3.85 per minute.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Magomed Ankalaev (-260)

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