Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Yan Xiaonan UFC Picks & Predictions - 2/22/2020

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Yan Xiaonan

UFC Fight Night 168

Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Karolina Kowalkiewicz will face off with Yan Xiaonan at UFC Fight Night 168 in Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday, February 22, 2020. The opening odds have Kowalkiewicz coming in at +210 while Xiaonan is at -250.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz walks into the Octagon holding a mark of 13-5-0. The 34-year-old is weighing in at 115 lbs and comes in at 5' 3". The orthodox fighter extends her reach 64". Yan Xiaonan measures in at 5' 5" and steps on the scale at 115 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a victory to her career total of 11-1-0. The 30-year-old extends her reach 63". Regarding significant strikes, Karolina Kowalkiewicz is landing 5.57 per minute while Yan Xiaonan connects on 6.85 significant strikes per minute. Kowalkiewicz is connecting on 39% of the significant strikes she tries and Xiaonan is landing 40%. Regarding defense, Kowalkiewicz takes 5.58 significant strikes per min and Yan absorbs 4.22. Kowalkiewicz also thwarts 57% of the significant strikes her opponents throw at her while Xiaonan is able to prevent 64% of the shots thrown in her direction.

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In terms of takedowns, Karolina Kowalkiewicz is not as effective of a grappler as she takes her opponents to the canvas 0.11 times per 15 min. Kowalkiewicz is scoring a takedown on 14% of her tries and is defending 83% of all takedowns attempted by her opposition. Xiaonan is scoring a takedown on 50% of her takedown tries and is stuffing 66% of the attempts against her. Regarding going for the sub, Kowalkiewicz is the more capable of the two fighters by trying 0.4 submissions per 15 minutes while Xiaonan goes for 0.2 submissions per 15 min.

In her previous bout, Karolina Kowalkiewicz fought Alexa Grasso and wound up walking away in defeat by unanimous decision in round 3. Grasso landed 163 of 384 total strikes attempted in that contest. Kowalkiewicz finished this fight landing 92 of 234 total strikes. In the significant strikes category, Grasso ended up landing 148 of 369, which means her percentage was 40%. She ended up landing 92 of 289 significant strikes to the head. On the other side of the Octagon, Kowalkiewicz landed 38% of her significant strikes by landing 90 of 232. In terms of accuracy for the significant strikes, she was 55 of 186 pointed at the head. 83% of the significant strikes landed by Grasso and 87% of them landed by Kowalkiewicz were done at a distance.

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In the last bout for Yan Xiaonan, she battled Angela Hill and ended up getting the victory by unanimous decision in round 3. Hill ended up connecting on 78% of the significant strikes she attempted at distance and Xiaonan landed 88% of the significant strikes she tried at a distance. Xiaonan connected on 37% of her significant strikes attempted by landing 94 of 249. She connected on 64 of 199 significant strikes directed at the head. Hill ended up connecting on 71 of 144 significant strikes in that fight. Looking at the significant strike accuracy, she ended up landing 44 of 110 to the head. In regard to total strikes attempted in that contest, Hill ended up connecting on 78 of 151 while Xiaonan connected on 105 of 264 of all the strikes she attempted.

Other bouts to watch

An additional bout that shouldn't be missed is when Loma Lookboonmee goes up against Angela Hill. Lookboonmee looks to add a victory to her total of 4-1-0. The 24-year-old records a weight of 115 lbs and stands 5' 1". The orthodox fighter stretches 61". Hill measures in at 5' 3" and weighs 115 lbs. The orthodox fighter has a career mark of 11-7-0. The 35-year-old stretches 64". When it comes to grappling, Loma Lookboonmee is able to score a takedown 1.00 times per 15 min and Angela Hill takes her opponents to the canvas 0.46 times per 15 minutes. Regarding striking, Lookboonmee connects for an average of 6.60 strikes per minute and connecting on 65% out of all the strikes she attempts. On the other side we have Angela Hill, who lands 50% of the strikes she attempts and is connecting on 5.97 per min.

If you're into fun fights, you're going to want to see when Shana Dobson is set to battle Priscila Cachoeira. Cachoeira will be looking to add a victory to her career total of 8-3-0. The 31-year-old weighs in at 125 lbs and measures 5' 7". The orthodox fighter extends her reach 65". Dobson stands 5' 6" and is fighting at 125 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a victory to her career record of 3-3-0. The 30-year-old stretches 69". Regarding wrestling, Priscila Cachoeira is able to prevent 69% of the takedowns her opponents go for and is scoring a takedown on 10% of her tries. Dobson is taking her opponents to the mat on 25% of her tries and deflects 10% of all takedown attempts. With regard to striking, Cachoeira is taking 7.94 strikes per min while she is landing 3.70 per min. Dobson, on the other hand, is taking 5.31 strikes per min and connects on 3.56 per min.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Karolina Kowalkiewicz (+210)

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