UFC London is in the books and we head to Columbus, Ohio this weekend for another cracking Fight Night.
Curtis Blaydes takes on Chris Daukaus in the Main Event but there is plenty of fun fights to look forward to including kiwi Flyweight Kai Kara-France who continues his quest toward UFC gold.
Our full UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Daukaus Tips & Preview can be found below.
Curtis Blaydes vs Chris Daukaus
Tip: Over 1.5 Rounds @ $1.50
The main event sees the #4 ranked UFC Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes go up against the #8 ranked Chris Daukaus.
Blaydes has been so consistent in this division for such a long time without getting a title shot and he has just three losses in his 19 fight professional career which is truly remarkable in the heaviest weight division in the sport.
Two of those losses came against the current champion Francis Ngannou and the other was in February last year when he was knocked out cold by Derrick Lewis.
Chris Daukaus suffered the same fate against Lewis when he last entered the octagon in December and that was the first loss of his UFC career.
Previous to that loss he was on a five fight win streak which could be accredited to his boxing and in particular his fantastic combos and power punching.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record but the reason Blaydes has been so successful is because of his wrestling.
He can level change at will and it is such an advantage especially in this division.
I find it really tough to be confident in how Blaydes wins this, and any, of his fights because he is patient enough to win a decision, he’s capable of getting into a position to submit his opponent and he has a vicious ground and pound.
I do think that both Daukaus is good enough to cause some trouble on the feet and that Blaydes will take his time if needed.
Over 1.5 rounds is the safest betting play.
Joanne Wood vs Alexa Grasso
Tip: Fight Not To Go The Distance
Joanne Wood missed out on fighting in the UK on the weekend but she will be looking to get her career back on track with a win in this fight after losing three of her last four.
She does have wins over Andrea Lee and Jessica Eye and she was a multiple time Muay Thai champion before starting her MMA career.
Alexa Grasso has won three of her last four including wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber.
Her only loss in that time was via a majority decision against Carla Esparza who is booked to fight for the UFC Strawweight title in May.
Grasso has proven more efficient with her boxing and that is evident with 9 of her last 10 wins being won by decision.
If there is a flaw with Grasso it is that she is very one dimensional but she is a very good points fighter.
This is a bad match up for Joanne in my opinion. Her defence is suspect with little head movement and she stands right in front of her opponent with her hands down a lot of the time.
This is a real turning point for Joanne and I think she will be looking to finish this inside the distance and in doing so might just get finished herself.
Either way, the best betting play in this fight, and value, is that the fight does not go the distance.
Askar Askarov vs Kai Kara-France
Tip: Askar Askarov by KO/TKO or Submission
Not sure why this one is not the co main event as we see the #2 ranked Flyweight Askar Askarov and #6 ranked Kai Kara France putting their hand up to be the next challenger for the title.
New Zealander Kara-France has won 16 of his last 19 professional fights including his last two in a row by first round KO/TKO.
Previous to those finishes, his last four wins had required the judges decision.
Fighting our of Dagestan in Russia, Askarov is undefeated in 15 professional fights including four inside the UFC promotion.
The only fight he did not win was against former Flyweight champ Brendon Moreno in his UFC debut when the fight resulted in a split draw.
Kai Kara-France is an excellent boxer who stays busy with his hands and he possesses a lot of power in his punching which was evident when he knocked out Cody Garbrandt in his last outing.
Wrestling though. This is the key.
I recently returned from Las Vegas where I was fortunate to interview over a dozen current and former UFC fighters (keep an eye on our social channels for the video content in the coming months) and they all unanimously agreed that wrestling is the most important discipline in MMA today.
This will be the difference in this fight in my opinion.
