No. 12 heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik (57-13, 8 KOs, 45 SUBs) will meet former TUF contender Maurice Greene (8-3, 2 KOs, 4 SUBs) at UFC 246 on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 10pm ET.
The master of the obscure Ezekiel Choke returns to the octagon this Saturday. Russia’s Aleksei Oleinik, who never met a neck he didn’t try to choke, will look to break a two-fight losing streak when he meets Maurice Greene in the main event of UFC 246 in Las Vegas.
Oleinik had an unlikely run up the heavyweight ladder, going 4-1 from 2017-2018 - submitting Travis Browne and Mark Hunt during that time. However, the 42-year old was knocked out in back-to-back fights against contenders in Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. With the slide, any hope for Oleinik to become a dark horse contender has been shut down. Still, there’s plenty of work for a submission expert in a shallow heavyweight division.
Greene won his first three UFC fights, beating low-level guys in Michel Batista, Jeff Hughes and Junior Albini. However, he lasted just three minutes against Sergei Pavlovich this past October, succumbing to a hellstorm of punches. But at 33, there’s still time for “The Crochet Boss” to turn things around, and he certainly has some decent tools to work with.
Greene opened as a slight -132 favorite, with Oleinik at +102 on the comeback - online oddsmakers are obviously expecting a close matchup. Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your best online bets. If needed, live UFC betting lets you make wagers during the fight at well.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Aleksei Oleinik +103
Maurice Greene -133
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: +450 / -675
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Oleinik 3.53 / Greene 5.38
Striking accuracy: Oleinik 51% / Greene 44%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Oleinik 3.61 / Greene 4.56
Striking defense: Oleinik 49% / Greene 53%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Oleinik 2.69 / Greene 0
Takedown accuracy: Oleinik 39% / Greene 0%
Takedown defense: Oleinik 20% / Greene 66%
Submission average: Oleinik 2.4 / Greene 0.7
Bet on UFC odds at the online sportsbook
Oleinik’s offense is both wild and lumbering - he plods forwards and wings heavy hooks without much technique. Against technical strikers or more athletic fighters, the Russian looks severely outmatched on the feet. But when he’s able to get close enough to lock up, Oleinik all of a sudden lives up to his “Boa Constrictor” nickname. Opponents who leave their necks exposed quickly end up regretting the fatal mistake.
Of course, Oleinik’s submissions all depends on whether he can get himself into grappling exchanges in the first place. That might be difficult against Greene, who stands an imposing 6’7” and tips the scales at 265 pounds. While the American has a background as a kickboxer, he actually hasn’t looked special on the feet, but taking hits from anyone that big is extremely dangerous. It’s tough to tell what his ceiling is, as right now the only things that are notable is his size and strength.
Obviously, Oleinik has a huge advantage on the ground, while Greene should come out ahead on the feet. So the question here is whether Oleinik can force this to the mat. As a sambo practitioner, the Russian has a series of tricky sweeps and trips, but lacks the strength and technique of a pure wrestler. Then again, Greene is relatively unproven against high-level grapplers.
UFC Odds Pick: Greene to win at -133
There’s not a lot to go on here, but it’s tough to see Oleinik really getting the upper hand against a guy so much bigger (and younger) than him. Greene just needs to protect his neck for 15 minutes, and he should be able to do enough damage to take the win.
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