Gabriel Benitez vs Omar Morales Predictions, Picks, UFC Fight Night 173 Odds

by Tony Sink - 5/6/2020

Gabriel Benitez vs Omar Morales

UFC Fight Night 173

VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Gabriel Benitez will take on Omar Morales at UFC Fight Night 173 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. The opener has Benitez at -135 while Morales is coming in at +110.

Gabriel "Moggly" Benitez walks into the Octagon with a mark of 21-8-0. The 31-year-old is fighting at 145 lbs and stands in at 5'8". The southpaw fighter reaches 71". Omar "Venezuelan Fighter" Morales stands in at 5'11" and is weighing in at 155 lbs. The orthodox fighter will be looking to add a win to his record of 9-0-0. The 34-year-old has an arm span of 73". In terms of significant strikes, Gabriel Benitez is connecting on 4.32 per min while Omar Morales connects on 3.60 significant strikes per min. Benitez is landing 41% of the significant strikes he attempts while Morales connects on 49%. In terms of defending in the Octagon, "Moggly" takes 2.93 significant strikes per min and "Venezuelan Fighter" absorbs 1.80. Benitez also deflects 71% of the significant strikes his opponents attempt while Morales is able to stop 62% of the shots thrown in his direction.

In the wrestling category, Gabriel Benitez is the not as competent as a grappler as he takes his opponents to the canvas 0.21 times per 3 rounds. Benitez is finishing his takedown attempts on 90% of the times he tries and thwarting 56% of takedowns his opponents have attempted. Morales is taking his opponents to the mat on 95% of his takedown attempts and stopping 90% of takedowns his opponents have attempted. Regarding going for the sub, Benitez is the more skilled of the two fighters by trying 1.5 submissions per 3 rds while Morales tries 0.4 submissions per 15 min.

In his previous fight, Gabriel Benitez faced Sodiq Yusuff and ended up walking away in defeat via a punch to the head in round 1. Yusuff landed 34 of 79 total strikes attempted in that fight. Benitez walked away from this fight having landed 24 of 72 total strikes. In terms of significant strikes, Yusuff landed 34 of 79, which gave him a percentage of 43%. He finished the fight landing 25 of 70 significant strikes directed at the head. On the other side of the cage, Benitez landed 33% of his significant strikes by landing 24 of 72. In terms of accuracy for the significant strikes, he connected on 11 of 55 aimed at the head. 88% of the significant strikes landed by Yusuff and 100% of them connected on by Benitez were done at distance.

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In the last Octagon appearance for Omar Morales, he went up against Dong Hyun Ma and wound up taking home the victory by way of unanimous decision in round 3. Ma landed 100% of the significant strikes he attempted at distance and Morales ended up landing 62% of the significant strikes he tried at a distance. Morales connected on 35% of his significant strikes attempted by landing 32 of 89. He connected on 22 of 78 significant strikes aimed at the head. Ma landed 15 of 56 significant strikes in that fight. Out of those significant strikes, he ended up landing 6 of 43 directed at the head. In relation to total strikes attempted in that contest, Ma ended up connecting on 21 of 63 while Morales ended up landing 60 of 123 total strikes.

Other bouts to keep an eye on

An additional bout that shouldn't be missed is when Hunter Azure enters the Octagon against Brian Kelleher. Azure walks into the Octagon with a mark of 8-0-0. The 28-year-old records a weight of 145 lbs and stands in at 5'8". The orthodox fighter extends his reach 69". Kelleher measures 5'6" and weighs in at 145 lbs. The switch fighter looks to add a win to his career total of 20-10-0. The 33-year-old has an arm span of 66". When it comes to grappling, Hunter Azure scores a takedown 2.00 times per 15 minutes and Brian Kelleher takes his opponents down 1.47 times per 3 rds. When talking about striking, Azure lands an average of 4.00 strikes per min and connects on 50% of his attempted strikes. On the other side we have Brian Kelleher, who is landing 45% of his attempted strikes and is landing 4.87 per minute.

An additional fight that you're going to want to see is when Sarah Moras is set to enter the Octagon with Sijara Eubanks. Eubanks looks to add a victory to her total of 5-4-0. The 35-year-old is weighing in at 135 lbs and measures in at 5'4". The orthodox fighter reaches 67". Moras comes in at 5'7" and weighs 135 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a win to her total of 6-6-0. The 32-year-old extends her reach 67". Concerning wrestling, Sijara Eubanks is able to defend against 63% of the takedowns her opponents try and is scoring a takedown on 44% of her tries. Moras is taking her opponents to the mat on 23% of her tries and is able to prevent 37% of all takedown attempts. Concerning striking, Eubanks absorbs 3.42 strikes/minute and she lands 4.77 strikes per minute. Moras, at the same time, absorbs 3.17 strikes/min and deals 2.04 per min.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Gabriel Benitez (-135)

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Gabriel Benitez vs Omar Morales Predictions, Picks, UFC Fight Night 173 Odds

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