Lerone Murphy vs Gabriel Benitez UFC Predictions & Tips - 3/21/2020

Lerone Murphy vs Gabriel Benitez

UFC Fight Night 171

The O2 Arena in London, England

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Lerone Murphy will enter the Octagon with Gabriel Benitez at UFC Fight Night 171 in The O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday, March 21, 2020. The moneyline has Murphy coming in at -175 while Benitez is coming in at +155.

Lerone "The Miracle" Murphy will be looking to add a win to his career record of 8-0-1. The 28-year-old weighs 145 lbs and measures in at 5' 9". The orthodox fighter reaches 73". Gabriel "Moggly" Benitez measures in at 5' 8" and tips the scales at 145 lbs. The southpaw fighter looks to add a victory to his record of 21-8-0. The 31-year-old extends his reach 71". In terms of significant strikes, Lerone Murphy connects on 1.87 per min and Gabriel Benitez is connecting on 4.32 significant strikes per min. Murphy connects on 35% of the significant strikes he throws while Benitez connects on 41%. Concerning their defense in the Octagon, "The Miracle" allows 1.47 significant strikes per minute and "Moggly" absorbs 2.93. Murphy also curbs 62% of the significant strikes that are aimed in his direction and Benitez stops 71% of the strikes thrown in his direction.

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When it comes to wrestling, Lerone Murphy is not as efficient of a wrestler as he is able to score a takedown 0.10 times per 3 rounds. Murphy is getting his opponent to the mat on 10% of his attempts and defending 25% of all takedowns attempted by his opposition. Benitez is scoring a takedown on 100% of his takedown attempts and defending 56% of the tries against him. Regarding sub attempts, Murphy is the more able fighter by going for 2.0 finishes per 3 rds while Benitez tries 1.5 finishes per 3 rds.

The last time he stepped into the Octagon, Lerone Murphy squared up with Zubaira Tukhugov and FALSE via split decision in round 3. Tukhugov landed 28 of 68 total strikes that he let go. Murphy walked away from this fight having landed 65 of 116 total strikes. Concerning significant strikes, Tukhugov ended up landing 22 of 58, which gave him a rate of 37%. He finished the fight landing 20 of 53 significant strikes aimed at the head. On the other side, Murphy landed 35% of his significant strikes by connecting on 28 of 78. Of those significant strikes, he was 12 of 55 aimed at the head. 45% of the significant strikes landed by Tukhugov and 82% of them landed by Murphy were thrown at a distance.

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In the last fight for Gabriel Benitez, he faced off with Sodiq Yusuff and walked away in defeat by way of a punch to the head in round 1. Yusuff ended up landing 88% of the significant strikes he tried at a distance and Benitez landed 100% of his significant strikes at distance. Benitez ended up landing 33% of his significant strikes attempted by connecting on 24 of 72. He ended up landing 11 of 55 significant strikes to the head. Yusuff landed 34 of 79 significant strikes in that fight. Out of all the significant strikes thrown, he connected on 25 of 70 to the head. In relation to the total strikes thrown in this fight, Yusuff was 34 of 79 and Benitez landed 24 of 72 of all the strikes he threw.

Other bouts to watch out for

Another fight that you're going to want to watch is when Mike Grundy faces off against Makwan Amirkhani. Grundy has a record of 12-1-0. The 33-year-old will fight at 145 lbs and measures 5' 7". The orthodox fighter stretches 72". Amirkhani comes in at 5' 10" and is fighting at 145 lbs. The southpaw fighter comes into this fight holding a mark of 15-4-0. The 31-year-old has a reach of 72". Regarding grappling, Mike Grundy is able to score a takedown 1.55 times per 3 rds and Makwan Amirkhani scores a takedown 3.39 times per 15 min. When talking about striking, Grundy lands an average of 3.40 strikes/minute and landing 58% of the strikes that he attempts. On the other side we have Makwan Amirkhani, who tags his opponent on 47% of the strikes he attempts and connects for an average of 1.60 per minute.

If you're going to be watching the fights, don't miss when Ashlee Evans-Smith is set to square up with Molly McCann. McCann steps into the cage with a record of 10-2-0. The 29-year-old is weighing in at 125 lbs and measures in at 5' 4". The orthodox fighter reaches 62". Evans-Smith measures 5' 8" and steps on the scale at 125 lbs. The orthodox fighter will be looking to add a victory to her career total of 6-4-0. The 32-year-old extends her reach 67". When it comes to takedowns, Molly McCann stops 40% of her opponents takedown tries and is taking her opponents to the canvas on 33% of the times she tries. Evans-Smith is taking her opponents to the mat on 25% of the attempts she tries and defends against 72% of all takedown attempts. In the category of striking, McCann absorbs 4.95 strikes per minute while she lands 6.49 strikes/minute. Evans-Smith, on the other hand, is absorbing 4.39 strikes/min and is dishing out 4.86 per minute.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Lerone Murphy (-175)

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