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Thiago Santos vs Aleksandar Rakic Pick, 3/6/2021 Predictions UFC 259 Odds

by Tony Sink - 3/2/2021

thiago santos ufc

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Thiago Santos vs Aleksandar Rakic

UFC 259

UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Thiago Santos will face off against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 on Saturday, March 6, 2021. The moneyline has Santos coming in at +135 while Rakic is priced at -155.

Thiago "Marreta" Santos will be looking to add a win to his record of 21-8-0. The 37-year-old weighs in at 205 lbs and measures 6'2". The orthodox fighter has a reach of 76". Aleksandar Rakic measures 6'4" and weighs 205 lbs. The orthodox fighter will be looking to add a win to his record of 13-2-0. The 29-year-old stretches 78". Concerning significant strikes, Thiago Santos is landing 4.36 per min while Aleksandar Rakic lands 4.66 significant strikes per min. Santos connects on 48% of the significant strikes he tries and Rakic is connecting on 54%. Concerning their defense in the Octagon, "Marreta" absorbs 2.32 significant strikes per min while Rakic takes 1.99. Santos also thwarts 55% of the significant strikes that are directed at him while Rakic is able to defend against 53% of the shots thrown in his direction.

 

UFC 259 Thiago Santos Aleksandar Rakic
Opening Odds +135 -155
Record 21-8-0 13-2-0
Average Fight Time 7:49 10:49
Height 6'2" 6'4"
Weight 205 lbs 205 lbs
Reach 76" 78"
Strikes Landed Per Minute 4.36 4.66
Striking Accuracy 48% 54%

 

Concerning wrestling, Thiago Santos is not as effective of a grappler as he is averaging a takedown 0.77 times per 3 rds. Santos is taking his opponents to the canvas on 40% of his tries and is stuffing 64% of the takedowns his opponents try. Rakic is finishing his takedown tries on 28% of his takedown tries and thwarting 89% of all takedowns attempted by his opposition. Regarding going for the sub, Santos is not as skilled of a technician by trying 0.1 subs per 3 rounds while Rakic goes for 0.2 subs per 3 rds.

In his last bout, Thiago Santos squared up with Glover Teixeira and ended up taking the loss by rear naked choke in round 3. Teixeira ended up landing 148 of 180 of the strikes he let go in total for this contest. Santos ended the night having landed 81 of 109 total strikes. When talking about significant strikes, Teixeira landed 46 of 63, which gave him a rate of 73%. He finished the fight landing 46 of 63 significant strikes aimed at the head. On the other side of the cage, Santos landed 62% of his significant strikes by sticking 40 of 64. Out of those significant strikes, he connected on 38 of 58 aimed at the head. 4% of the significant strikes connected on by Teixeira and 27% of them connected on by Santos were thrown at a distance.

In the last bout for Aleksandar Rakic, he squared up with Anthony Smith and ended up winning this fight by unanimous decision in round 3. Smith ended up connecting on 66% of his significant strikes at distance and Rakic connected on 56% of his significant strikes at distance. Rakic ended up landing 77% of the significant strikes he attempted by landing 44 of 57. He connected on 16 of 28 significant strikes aimed at the head. Smith ended up landing 9 of 21 significant strikes in that fight. In terms of accuracy for the significant strikes, he ended up landing 5 of 16 to the head. In terms of total strikes attempted in that contest, Smith was 40 of 53 and Rakic ended up connecting on 141 of 159 of all the strikes he attempted.

Other fights on the card to keep an eye on

One more match to look forward to is when Dominick Cruz enters the Octagon against Casey Kenney. Cruz steps into the cage with a mark of 22-3-0. The 35-year-old weighs in at 135 lbs and stands 5'8". The orthodox fighter has a wingspan of 68". Kenney measures in at 5'7" and will fight at 140 lbs. The southpaw fighter will be looking to add a win to his career record of 16-2-1. The 29-year-old extends his reach 68". Regarding grappling, Dominick Cruz is able to score a takedown 3.05 times per 15 min and Casey Kenney gets a takedown 1.25 times per 3 rds. In the striking category, Cruz lands an average of 3.52 strikes per minute and connecting on 32% out of all the strikes he attempts. On the other side of the cage you've got Casey Kenney, who lands 43% of his attempted strikes and is landing 4.79 per min.

If you're into fun fights, you're going to want to see when Kyler Phillips is set to clash with Song Yadong. Yadong looks to add a win to his record of 16-4-1. The 23-year-old weighs in at 145 lbs and stands 5'8". The orthodox fighter has a reach of 67". Phillips measures 5'8" and steps on the scale at 135 lbs. The orthodox fighter looks to add a win to his record of 8-1-0. The 25-year-old extends his reach 72". Concerning wrestling, Song Yadong curbs 61% of his opponents' takedown tries and is finishing his takedown attempts on 75% of his tries. Phillips is taking his opponents down on 66% of his attempts and is able to defend against 71% of all takedown tries against him. Concerning striking, Yadong absorbs 3.57 strikes per min while he connects on 4.32 per min. Phillips, in contrast, absorbs 2.05 strikes per minute and deals 6.28 per min.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Aleksandar Rakic (-155)

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