Volkan Oezdemir is favored against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 251 on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event will take place on Sunday, July 12, but because of the time difference, it will start on Saturday night, Eastern Time. The bout between Oezdemir and Prochazka is one of five preliminary bouts on ESPN. Oezdemir is 17-4 in his career, while Prochazka is 26-3-1. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card, with the headliner a bout between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. There are a total of eight preliminary bouts, all on ESPN. Let’s look at the bout between Oezdemir and Prochazka and UFC predictions.
UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal
Vokan Oezdemir (17-4, 5-3 UFC)
Oezdemir came into the UFC with a record of 12-1 and he has five wins and three losses in the UFC. He has gone 2-3 in his last five fights, but the last two have been wins. He had a three-fight losing streak, losing to Daniel Cormier by 2nd round TKO in October of 2018, losing by third round submission to Anthony Smith in October of 2018 and he lost a split decision to Dominick Reyes in March of 2019. Oezdemir bounced back to knock out Ilir Latifi in the second round in August of last year and he won a split decision against Aleksandar Rakic in December of last year. Oezdemir has been a pro since 2010. He has 12 wins by TKO/KO and one by submission. He has 12 first round finishes.
Jiri Prochazka (26-3-1, 0-0 UFC)
Prochazka will be making his UFC debut at UFC 251. In his last five fights he is 5-0. He defeated C.B. Dolloway in December of last year, winning by first round knockout. He knocked out Fabio Maldonado in October of last year, won by 3rd round TKO against Muhammed Lawal in April of last year, knocked out Brandon Halsey in December of 2018 and knocked out Jake Heun in September of 2018. Prochazka has been a pro since 2012 and he has 23 wins by TKO/KO and two by submission. He has 23 first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Oezdemir 4.88/ Prochazka 0.00
Striking Accuracy: Oezdemir 45% / Prochazka 0%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Oezdemir 4.14/ Prochazka 0.00
Defense: Oezdemir 55% / Prochazka 0%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Oezdemir 0.39/ Prochazka 0.00
Takedown Accuracy: Oezdemir 22% / Prochazka 0%
Takedowns defended: Oezdemir 80% / Prochazka 0%
Submission average: Oezdemir 0.0 / Prochazka 0.0
UFC Picks
I can’t remember any matchup that I have seen in the past that looked easier to predict, so of course that makes me little nervous for picking this bout. These two fighters are strikers with big power and they have combined for 35 first round finishes. This should be a great fight to bet under the rounds total, which is currently listed at 1.5. At the time of this writing you can actually get plus money on the under and I think it is a great bet, as this fight probably won’t make it out of the first round.
UFC 251 takes place at the UFC Fight Island facility on Sunday, July 12 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates but because of the time difference it will start on Saturday night, July 11 Eastern Time with five fights on the main pay-per-view card, headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal and eight preliminary bouts, with five on ESPN/ESPN+ and three on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN/ESPN+.
UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal Card & Odds
Jorge Masvidal +216 vs. Kamaru Usman -283
Max Holloway +194 vs. Alexander Volkanovski -250
Jose Aldo +179 vs. Petr Yan -230
Paige VanZant +555 vs. Amanda Ribas -925
Jessica Andrade +162 vs. Rose Namajunas -204
Jiri Prochazka +140 vs. Volkan Oezdemir -176
Zhalgas Zhumagulov +150 vs. Raulian Paiva -190
Vanessa Melo +186 vs. Karol Rosa -240
Danny Henry +150 vs. Makwan Amirkhani -190
Roman Bogatov +150 vs. Leonardo Santos -190
Elizeu Zaleski -105 vs. Muslim Salikhov -125
Davey Grant +143 vs. Martin Day -180
Maxim Grishin -106 vs. Marcin Tybura -124
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