Tai Tuivasa is favored against Don'Tale Mayes at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Holland on Saturday, March 20 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is one of six fights on the main card on ESPN/ESPN+. Tuivasa is 10-3 in his career, while Mayes is 8-4 in his career. There are a total of six fights on the main card on UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Holland, with the headliner a bout between Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland. There are also a total of seven fights on the preliminary card on ESPN2/ESPN+. Let's look at the bout between Tuivasa and Mayes and UFC picks.
UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Holland Betting
Tai Tuivasa (10-3, 4-3 UFC)
Tuivasa came into the UFC with a record of 6-0 and he has four wins and three losses in the UFC. He defeated Rashad Coulter by KO, Cyril Asker by TKO, Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision, and Stefan Struve by KO; while losing to Junior dos Santos by TKO, Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision, and Sergey Spivak by technical submission. Tuivasa has been a pro since 2012 and he has nine wins by TKO/KO. He has nine first round finishes.
Tuivasa said that he has a much better handle on his mental health and personal life than in the past and that means he will be very focused for upcoming fights. "My head's back and I'm ready to punch some heads in," Tuivasa said to the media, "I'm coming for skulls this year. I don't care if it's Don'Tale Mayes or whoever it is." Tuivasa said that he knows that Mayes is a puncher. "I hear he likes to punch on, so it's probably not going to be a good day in the office for him."
Don'Tale Mayes (8-4, 1-2 UFC)
Mayes came into the UFC with a record of 7-2 and he has one win and two losses in the UFC. He defeated Roque Martinez by unanimous decision; while losing to Ciryl Gane by heel choke submission and Rodrigo Nascimento by rear-naked choke submission. Mayes has been a pro since 2016 and he has four wins by TKO/KO and two by submission. He has two first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Tuivasa 4.20/ Mayes 4.13
Striking Accuracy: Tuivasa 49% / Mayes 45%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Tuivasa 3.45/ Mayes 4.46
Defense: Tuivasa 50% / Mayes 43%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Tuivasa 0.00/ Mayes 0.23
Takedown Accuracy: Tuivasa 0% / Mayes 20%
Takedowns defended: Tuivasa 46% / Mayes 59%
Submission average: Tuivasa 0.0/ Mayes 0.0
UFC Picks
Tuivasa is listed as a 2-1 favorite in this fight and he should get the win, but I rarely lay big prices, especially in a fight like this one. This bout has all the looks of a first round knockout one way or the other. It is definitely more likely that Tuivasa gets the knockout, but Mayes is not without a chance. I will simply take this fight to go under the rounds total.
UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Holland Card & Odds
Middleweight: Derek Brunson +141 vs. Kevin Holland -168
Welterweight: Kenan Song +162 vs. Max Griffin -196
Heavyweight: Don'Tale Mayes +170 vs. Tai Tuivasa -206
Bantamweight: Gustavo Lopez +177 vs. Adrian Yanez -215
Women's Strawweight: Montserrat Ruiz +280 vs. Cheyanne Buys -356
Women's Bantamweight: Julija Stoliarenko +287 vs. Julia Avila -366
Lightweight: Leonardo Santos +170 vs. Grant Dawson -206
Flyweight: Bruno Gustavo da Silva +130 vs. JP Buys -157
Lightweight: Brad Riddell +188 vs. Gregor Gillespie -230
Women's Bantamweight: Marion Reneau +165 vs. Macy Chiasson -201
Middleweight: Trevin Giles +113 vs. Roman Dolidze -137
Bantamweight: Jesse Strader +492 vs. Montel Jackson -702
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