The Fight Analyst sweeps yet again! He is now 14-1 over the last 5 weeks and has an overall record of 40-14. He is looking to make it back-to-back sweeps this weekend at UFC London.
The UFC headed to Long Island last week for a stacked fight card that unfortunately saw the main event end by TKO due to injury in the first round. On the other hand, the rest of the card delivered immense excitement throughout, and it looks like we’re in for more of the same this weekend at UFC London.
UFC London is headlined by two of the UFC’s best heavyweights, Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes. So, with that said, let’s take a look at The Best Bets for UFC London.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall
Curtis Blaydes who’s been a mainstay in the top of the rankings in the heavyweight division is looking to keep his winning streak going as he takes on the rising Tom Aspinall. He has won 6 out of his last 7 with his lone blemish against “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis. Blaydes has amassed 16 wins in his professional career with 10 by of knockout.
Tom Aspinall has looked every bit like the top prospect he was supposed to be coming into his UFC debut. Now rattling off 5 straight wins in the biggest promotion he has looked like a bonafide contender and will look to prove that on Saturday night. Aspinall has finished all 10 of his wins, 6 coming by knockout with 4 coming by submission.
Both fighters are very well-rounded in all facets of MMA but on paper this is a classic striker vs grappler matchup. Aspinall will look to keep this fight on the feet while Blaydes will look to take it to the mat. Considering Aspinall has never had to face the level of wrestler Blaydes is and he’s never seen a round 3 I would have to side with Blaydes in this matchup. Blaydes keeps Aspinall honest on the feet and waits for his openings for takedowns and just grinds out Aspinall over the course of the fight.
The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
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Curtis Blaydes +119 to win |
Chris Curtis vs. Jack Hermansson
Chris Curtis is up to the task to take on the #7 ranked middleweight Jack Hermansson on such short notice in hostile territory. He is coming off of a win that saw him sprawl and brawl his way to victory against “The Black Belt Hunter” Rodolfo Vieira. Curtis is riding an 8-fight winning streak into this matchup which has seen him finish 5 of his opponents by knockout.
Jack Hermansson is coming into this fight only 2-3 in his last 5 fights and will be looking to get back on track against Curtis. He was originally slated to face off against Darren Till until he was sidelined due to injury. Hermansson has the ability to win this fight anywhere and will really need to take the fight to Curtis in order to get back into the win column.
This is a lose-lose situation for Hermansson because a win doesn’t push him any closer to a title shot and a loss will have drop considerably in the rankings. When Curtis has nothing to lose that is when he is most dangerous. We have seen him use his defensive grappling flawlessly so far in the UFC and if he hopes to keep it going he’s going to need to be perfect. Curtis comes in there and sprawls and brawls yet again for the biggest win of his career.
The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
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Chris Curtis -107 to win |
Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Paul Craig is looking like a legitimate title contender as he has now won 5 out of his last 6 with each win coming inside the distance. Craig has shown progression in his overall game, as he has improved his stand up to compliment his dangerous ground arsenal. In Craig’s 16 wins all of them come by finish with 13 of them by submission.
Volkan Oezdemir hasn’t had the same amount of luck as Craig has had recently. He is just 2-4 in his last 6 fights and hasn’t won a fight since his controversial split decision win over Aleksandar Rakic in 2019. Of Oezdemir’s 17 wins. 12 of them have come by knockout.
Oezdemir will have to do everything in his power to stay off the mat against Craig, but that is easier said than done. Craig just always finds a way to get his opponent to the mat even if that means just pulling guard and once he is on the mat you are in his world. Expect things to get a little dicey on the feet until Craig unconventionally gets Oezdemir to the mat and gets the submission.
The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
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Paul Craig +126 to win |
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