John Lineker is a solid favorite over Brian Kelleher at UFC 224 on Saturday in Brazil. This event is one of five on the main pay-per-view card. Lineker is 30-8 in his career, while Kelleher is 19-8. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card at UFC 224, with the headliner a bout between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington. There are also a total of eight fights on the preliminary card with four on FX and four on UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Lineker and Kelleher and UFC picks.
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John Lineker (30-8, 11-3 UFC)
Lineker came into the UFC with a record of 19-5 and has shown the ability to do well, losing only three of his 14 UFC bouts. His three losses were against T.J. Dillashaw by unanimous decision, Ali Bagautinov by unanimous decision, and Louis Gaudinot by technical submission. Lineker has been a pro since 2008 and has 13 wins by TKO/KO and four by submission. He has won seven of his last eight fights and has eight first round finishes.
Brian Kelleher (19-8, 3-1 UFC)
Kelleher came into the UFC with a record of 16-7 and has won three of his four UFC bouts. His one loss was against Marlon Vera by submission while he defeated Iuri Alcantara by submission, Damian Stasiak by TKO, and Renan Barao by unanimous decision. Kelleher has been a pro since 2011 and has seven wins by TKO/KO and eight by submission. He has won nine of his last ten fights and has eight first round finishes.
Brian Kelleher said this to mmanews.com late last month about his upcoming fight against Lineker, “I’ve got to make a statement against Lineker. I always say this—that I never look past a guy—and I don’t want it to sound like that. Lineker is a tough opponent, really hard to finish, but I’m gonna take him out and make a statement and we’ll go from there. I know he’s a power puncher. He likes to mix it up to the body and head. He really just looks to box. He doesn’t throw a lot of kicks or throw a lot of level changes… He’s somewhat one-dimensional.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Lineker 5.02 / Kelleher 5.65
Accuracy: Lineker 39% / Kelleher 48%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Lineker 3.98/ Kelleher 5.37
Defense: Lineker 55% / Kelleher 54%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Lineker 0.56 / Kelleher 1.37
Accuracy: Lineker 60% / Kelleher 37%
Takedowns defended: Lineker 67% / Kelleher 84%
Submission average: Lineker 0.6 / Kelleher 0.9
UFC Picks
John Lineker is a -230 favorite over Brian Kelleher and there is no question he has more experience in the UFC. I like Lineker to get this win and I think he is worth a play even at this price. Lineker and Kelleher have a total of 16 first round finishes so I will also take the fight to go under the rounds total.
UFC 224 takes place on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a women’s bantamweight match between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington as the event headliner. There are five fights on the main pay-per-view card and eight preliminary bouts, with four on FX and four on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Women’s Bantamweight – Amanda Nunes -592 vs. Raquel Pennington
Middleweight – Ronaldo Souza -152 vs. Kevin Gastelum
Women’s Strawweight – Mackenzie Dern -240 vs. Amanda Cooper
Bantamweight – John Lineker -230 vs. Brian Kelleher
Middleweight – Lyoto Machida -250 vs. Vitor Belfort
Preliminary Card (FX)
Middleweight – Karl Roberson -155 vs. Cezar Ferreira
Heavyweight – Junior Albini -138 vs. Aleksei Oliynyk
Lightweight – Davi Ramos -133 vs. Nick Hein
Welterweight – Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos -139 vs. Sean Strickland
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight – Warlley Alves -224 vs. Sultan Aliev
Middleweight – Jack Hermansson -147 vs. Thales Leites
Welterweight – Ramazan Emeev -200 vs. Alberto Mina
Middleweight – Markus Perez -285 vs. James Bochnovic
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