Junior Albini is a solid favorite over Aleksei Oliynyk at UFC 224 on Saturday in Brazil. This event is one of five fights on the main pay-per-view card. Oliynyk is 52-11-1 in his career, while Albini is 14-3. 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 UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Oliynyk and Albini and UFC predictions.
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Aleksei Oliynyk (52-11-1, 4-2 UFC)
Oliynyk came into the UFC with a record of 48-9-1 and he is 4-2 in the UFC. His two losses were against Curtis Blaydes by TKO and Daniel Omielanczuk by majority decision. Oliynyk has been a pro since 1997 and has 43 wins by submission and five by TKO/KO. He has won 11 of his last 13 fights and has 41 first round finishes.
Junior Albini (14-3, 1-1 UFC)
Albini came into the UFC with a record of 14-3 and has only fought twice in the UFC with one win and one loss. He defeated Timothy Johnson by TKO, while losing to Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision. Albini does not have near the experience in fighting in the UFC that Oliynyk has. Albini has been a pro since 2009 and he has six wins by TKO/KO and six by submission. He has 11 first round finishes.
Junior Albini said this to mmajunkie.com about his upcoming fight with Oliynyk, “This time, I had a lot of time to plan and to bring in the right people. Despite Alexei’s unorthodox positions on the ground, it’s a little easier to get people that emulate his game. He’s more of a brawler on the feet, and Brazil has a lot of people who are good on the ground. In no way do I feel like this fight is going to come down to my going for the standup and him going to the ground, I think he has the resources to trade with me on the feet. He’s a tough guy, who likes to fight. Of course, he has good ground, but I also believe in my ground game, and I also believe I can surprise him. I think it will come down to what happens there, to who’s able to better impose the game on the feet and in the grappling.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Oliynyk 3.21 / Albini 3.87
Accuracy: Oliynyk 52% / Albini 48%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Oliynyk 3.39/ Albini 6.22
Defense: Oliynyk 51% / Albini 54%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Oliynyk 3.08 / Albini 0.00
Accuracy: Oliynyk 53% / Albini 0%
Takedowns defended: Oliynyk 12% / Albini 100%
Submission average: Oliynyk 2.3 / Albini 0.0
UFC Predictions
Junior Albini is a -138 favorite over Oliynyk which is a little surprising considering he has fought twice in the UFC and has gone 1-1. Oliynyk has more experience fighting in the UFC and I expect him to get this win and we get him at plus money.
UFC 224 takes place on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at Jeunesse ArenainRio 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 -1003 vs. Raquel Pennington
Middleweight – Ronaldo Souza -145 vs. Kevin Gastelum
Women’s Strawweight – Mackenzie Dern -249 vs. Amanda Cooper
Bantamweight – John Lineker -246 vs. Brian Kelleher
Middleweight – Lyoto Machida -270 vs. Vitor Belfort
Preliminary Card (FX)
Middleweight – Karl Albini -118 vs. Cezar Oliynyk
Heavyweight – Junior Albini -138 vs. Aleksei Oliynyk
Lightweight – Davi Ramos -145 vs. Nick Hein
Welterweight – Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos -136 vs. Sean Strickland
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight – Warlley Alves -230 vs. Sultan Aliev
Middleweight – Jack Hermansson -147 vs. Thales Leites
Welterweight – Ramazan Emeev -200 vs. Alberto Mina
Middleweight – Markus Perez -300 vs. James Bochnovic
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