Merab Dvalishvili is favored against Cody Stamann at UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Prochazka on Saturday, May 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is one of six fights on the main card on ESPN 2/ESPN+. Dvalishvili is 12-4 in his career, while Stamann is 19-3-1 in his career. There are a total of six fights on the main card on UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Prochazka, with the headliner a bout between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka. There are also a total of six fights on the preliminary card on ESPN 2/ESPN+. Let’s look at the bout between Dvalishvili and Stamann and UFC predictions.
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Merab Dvalishvili (12-4, 5-2 UFC)
Dvalishvili came into the UFC with a record of 7-2 and he has five wins and two losses in the UFC. He defeated Terrion Ware by unanimous decision, Brad Katona by unanimous decision, Casey Kenney by unanimous decision, Gustavo Lopez by unanimous decision, and John Dodson by unanimous decision; while losing to Frankie Saenz by split decision and Ricky Simón by technical submission. Dvalishvili has been a pro since 2014 and he has two wins by TKO/KO and one by submission. He has one first round finish.
Cody Stamann (19-3-1, 5-2-1 UFC)
Stamann came into the UFC with a record of 14-1 and he has five wins, two losses, and one draw in the UFC. He defeated Terrion Ware by unanimous decision, Tom Duquesnoy by split decision, Bryan Caraway by split decision, Alejandro Pérez by unanimous decision, and Brian Kelleher by unanimous decision; while losing to Aljamain Sterling by Suloev stretch submission and Jimmie Rivera by unanimous decision; and fighting to a draw against Song Yadong by majority. Stamann has been a pro since 2011 and he has six wins by TKO/KO and two by submission. He has four first round finishes.
Stamann said this to mmasucka.com about his upcoming fight against Dvalishvili, “If there’s one aspect of my MMA game that I trust and rely on, it’s my takedown defense. It’s gotten me to the show. It’s gotten me to where I am today. For me stylistically, this fight is a great match-up. I couldn’t really figure out why Merab wanted to take it. I don’t know if he had something to prove or what the deal was, or maybe I was the only person who was offered to him. I don’t know. If I’m Merab, I would’ve fought anyone but me. I’ve been known to take guys down. If you look at the level of opponent that Merab and I faced, it’s not even close. I’ve been fighting nothing but ranked opponents. Merab’s got one ranked opponent under his belt in John Dodson. Other than that, he really hasn’t fought anybody on my level.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Dvalishvili 3.91/ Stamann 4.14
Striking Accuracy: Dvalishvili 39% / Stamann 48%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Dvalishvili 2.08/ Stamann 3.18
Defense: Dvalishvili 61% / Stamann 63%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Dvalishvili 7.71/ Stamann 3.03
Takedown Accuracy: Dvalishvili 43% / Stamann 46%
Takedowns defended: Dvalishvili 80% / Stamann 80%
Submission average: Dvalishvili 0.3/ Stamann 0.0
UFC Predictions
I don’t always pay attention to what the fighters have to say leading up to a fight, as much of it is bravado, but what Stamann said is correct. Dvalishvili hasn’t really faced anyone of note, while Stamann has been facing some good fighters. Perhaps Dvalishvili will win this fight, but he should not be a 2-1 favorite. I’ll make two plays in this one and take the plus price on Stamann and also play the rounds to go over the total.
UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Prochazka takes place at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 1 with six fights on the main card on ESPN 2/ESPN+, headlined by Dominick Reyes Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka and six preliminary bouts, also on ESPN 2/ESPN+.
Main Card (ESPN 2 / ESPN+)
Light Heavyweight - Dominick Reyes vs. Jirí Procházka
Featherweight - Cub Swanson vs. Giga Chikadze
Light Heavyweight - Ion Cu?elaba vs. Dustin Jacoby
Middleweight - Sean Strickland vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Bantamweight - Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cody Stamann
Women’s Flyweight - Poliana Botelho vs. Luana Carolina
Preliminary Card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Women’s Strawweight - Randa Markos vs. Luana Pinheiro
Featherweight - Gabriel Benítez vs. Jonathan Pearce
Featherweight - Kai Kamaka III vs. T.J. Brown
Women’s Strawweight - Loma Lookboonmee vs. Sam Hughes
Featherweight - Luke Sanders vs. Felipe Colares
Middleweight - Andreas Michailidis vs. KB Bhullar
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