Light heavyweight veterans Devin “Brown Bear” Clark (10-4, 3 KOs, 1 SUB) and Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-6, 4 KOs, 15 SUBs) will meet at UFC on ESPN+ 25 on Saturday, February 15 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The card streams live on ESPN+ starting 8pm ET.
Two struggling 205-pounders collide this Saturday when Devin Clark and Gadzhimurad Antigulov look to bounce back from recent losses. Fighting on a main card of an ESPN+ card should provide added motivation - both men have spent most of their octagon time in prelim battles lately.
Devin Clark has managed a 4-4 UFC record since getting called up from RFA in late 2016. Like his record, “The Brown Bear” has been consistently average, beating fringe fighters like Darko Stosic and Jake Collier, but losing to upgraded competition like Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic. Most recently he was submitted by Ryan Spann in a matchup that puts him in danger of being cut by the promotion.
Despite hailing from Dagestan, Antigulov has not had the same success of fellow regional compatriots like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Zabit Magomedsharipov and Islam Makhachev. He comes into the match on the heels of first-round knockout losses Ion Cutelaba and Michal Oleksiejczuk. To be fair, those dudes are some serious bangers. The defeats follow a 14-fight winning streak that included two UFC fights.
This isn’t a fight with significant divisional impact, but the fighters should be well aware that there UFC careers could be on the line. Let’s check in with the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your best betting options. Live UFC betting is available at the online sportsbook if you’d like to make bets during the fight.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Devin Clark -170
Gadzhimurad Antigulov +135
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: Sign in for odds
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Clark 3.28 / Antigulov 1.78
Striking accuracy: Clark 54% / Antigulov 53%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Clark 2.85 / Antigulov 5.45
Striking defense: Clark 41% / Antigulov 21%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Clark 2.92 / Antigulov 9.51
Takedown accuracy: Clark 37% / Antigulov 50%
Takedown defense: Clark 77% / Antigulov N/A
Submission average: Clark 0.19 / Antigulov 3.81
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Surprise, surprise: the Dagestani fighter is a strong wrestler. He lands over nine takedowns per 15 minutes at a 53% clip - which would be completely unsustainable as he laddered up the division. However, his wrestling has already proven effective against midtier fighters. The 33-year old absolutely relentless in getting the fight to the ground, where his power submission game takes over. When it’s working - like in his first two UFC fights - Antigulov is a terror. However, Antigulov was exposed when he was forced to strike with knockout punchers - leading to some questions about his chin.
Clark is another guy who prefers to wrestle, though he’s far less reliant on that skill than his opponent. In fact, the Jackson-Wink fighter probably has the better overall tools - he’s a good athlete who can strike a bit and fall back on a solid grappling game when needed. There’s a good fighter buried somewhere in Clark’s frame, but he hasn’t figured out how to put everything together, and he’s running out of octagon time to do so. Normally, I’d give the benefit of the doubt to his world-class team and coaching, but at some point the fighter has to flip a switch.
UFC Odds Pick: Antigulov to win at +135
If Clark had knockout power, we’d give him a better chance to win this fight. But right now, this is a case of two wrestlers squaring off - and Antigulov is clearly the better of the two in this area. In fact, this seems like a matchup that was made to get him back in the win column. Antigulov is the easy pick here, and if you’re feeling feisty take him to win by submission - he’s a python once things get to the mat.
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