UFC 267 - Breakdowns & Predictions
When is UFC 267? Saturday 30th October, 2021 - 17:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 267? Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, (UAE)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 267? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 267
What channel is UFC 267 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC 267? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
JAN BLACHOWICZ VS GLOVER TEIXEIRA
Jan Blachowicz (28-8) is lapping up every moment of his prime and is coming off the first defence of his light heavyweight title and biggest win of his career. He made it look easy in all honesty inflicting the first loss of Israel Adesanya’s career. He was the underdog but put all his weight and grappling to use subduing the elite striker for five rounds. That made it five in a row for the veteran who has matured into a well-rounded beast of a 205er. He started the streak by burying Luke Rockhold, squeaking past Jacare Souza in a split decision, dispatching Corey Anderson and then crushing Dominick Reyes with the eighth knockout of his career to earn the strap.
The old war horse Glover Teixeira (32-7) is in the final straight of his last run for the title. He is 42 years old and had 20 UFC fights. His first attempt at capturing the light heavyweight title was against Jon Jones in 2014 and frankly got outclassed. The next four years were a mixed bag capped off by a unanimous decision loss to Anderson, but he has gone on a tear since. He submitted Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba before earning a split decision over Nikia Krylov. He then mauled Anthony Smith putting him out of his misery in the fifth round and is coming off a submission over Thiago Santos.
PREDICTION
This is the perfect time for these two to meet for a title shot. They are both in their pomp which will not last for too much longer, especially for Teixeira. Blachowicz comes from a Muay Thai background, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and Teixeira is a high-level black belt in BJJ as well as being a technically sound and powerful boxer.
Blachowicz has the power advantage in his strikes and in recent years has let his hands fly a lot more which has resulted in a few one-punch knockouts. His left hook in particular is a weapon and it will have Teixeira’s name on as he regularly eats a lot of strikes to the dome.
We almost expect Teixeira to get rocked by a Blachowicz missile, but that does not mean he will be out of the fight, and it may force him to grapple sooner than planned. Blachowicz is an exceptional wrestler and BJJ practitioner, but Teixeira is different gravy on the ground.
The battle of the clinch could decide the winner. If Teixeira gets the upper hand with his dirty boxing and manages to drag Blachowicz to the ground, he will stay on him like a wet towel, raining down punches to open up a submission. However, the clinch is also Blachowicz’s domain and he is devastating on the break torquing the left hand from a variety of angles as soon as there is space.
That said, we expect Teixeira to initiate the clinch after few exchanges on the feet and will press Blachowicz up against the fence hoping to offload cutting elbows and uppercuts before pulling him down. If he succeeds, Blachowicz will be in for a gruelling night, if the Pole keeps the fight on the feet, the power in his hands and feet will swing this in his favour.
We are backing the champion here, but this is a tough one to call. As they are both so durable, we expect an attritional five rounds and a decision to close to blockbuster card.
Prediction: Blachowicz via Decision
Value Bet: Teixeira to win
PETR YAN VS CORY SANDHAGEN
The people’s champ, Petr Yan (15-2) finally gets his chance to win back his bantamweight title. He only has himself to blame, gifting it to Aljamain Sterling back in March. He weathered the early storm and began putting beating on his fatiguing foe in the fourth round before mindlessly throwing a knee while he was grounded to get disqualified. Sterling milked it but there was no doubting the contact and severity of the foul. It snapped his 10-fight win streak and now has a new opponent to make amends.
That opponent presents another incredibly tough challenge in the form of Cory Sandhagen (14-3). He is actually coming off a loss, but it was a split decision that could have easily gone his way. He welcomed the former king of the division, TJ Dillashaw and was close to submitting him but had to settle in tearing the ligaments in his knee. That loss and epic war was only three months ago and came after his two showstopping knockouts over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar. They were in response to getting submitted my Aljamain Sterling and he would love nothing more than to avenge that loss as the champion.
PREDICTION
This is one of the most anticipated title fights of the year and it does not even involve the champion. Sterling is out recovering from neck surgery, but nobody seems disappointed that this has become an interim title fight.
The more you delve into this match-up, the more fascinating it gets. Yan is arguably the best striker in the division with exceptional takedown defence and has employed his own takedowns in his last six fights. Sandhagen does not have the power of Yan, but he has a full arsenal of strikes and will boast three inches in reach and four in height.
This fight will be decided on who can control the range. Sandhagen’s length and movement will give Yan more problems than he has faced before. Aldo is the best striker he has fought but he did not have to worry about getting hit from outside his range and flying knees from across the octagon.
In range, Yan is a different beast with immaculate Muay Thai and boxing. He has the speed and power advantage, but unless he can shepherd Sandhagen in his firing range and clinch, he will be constantly chasing him while getting clipped with a variety of strikes. Yan has solid boxing defence, but Sandhagen attacks the whole body with all eight limbs making it impossible not to get hit.
Sandhagen can win this with volume alone, but Yan has the power and composure to win the fight in any round. We may also see Yan attempt to shoot in for a few takedowns to bank some points on the scorecards, but he will have to worry about Sandhagen’s knee and jiu-jitsu if they hit the deck.
We backed Yan’s experience, power and cardio against Sterling and it will be crucial here. Sandhagen has a colossal gas tank himself so he will not outwork him, but his experience and power should enable him to close the distance and inflict more damage. It may take a couple rounds to find his flow and will not come without adversity, but we are leaning towards the Russian earning the belt for the second time.
Prediction: Yan via Decision
Value Bet: Sandhagen to win
ISLAM MAKHACHEV VS DAN HOOKER
Islam Makhachev (20-1) finally gets his man after Rafael dos Anjos pulled out and he still has the chance to move one step closer to a title shot with a win. The UFC have built him up slowly but after eight dominant wins, he needed a top ranked opponent. If he did not get knocked out by Adriano Martins on his second UFC appearance in 2015, the Khabib Nurmagomedov comparisons will be even more rife. He is not quite on Khabib’s level, but that does not mean he cannot out grapple the division as we have seen in recent fights. He earnt tough-fought unanimous decisions over the talented Arman Tsarukyan (2019) and jiu-jitsu wizard Davi Ramos (2019) before submitting Drew Dober (2021) and Thiago Moises (2021) to open up a path to the top five.
Dan Hooker (21-10) is a mad man, stepping up on short notice to take on one of the toughest fights in the stacked division. He was not keen on fighting Makhachev a few years ago as he had no rank and value to his name, but times have changed. In the meantime, he has fought more household stars. He earnt unanimous decisions over Al Iaquinta (2019) and Paul Felder (2020) before another war with Dustin Poirier (2020). He almost put the title challenger away too until the bell rang for the round. Hooker then suffered his biggest setback getting knocked out in the first round by Michael Chandler (2021) but in true Hooker fashion he accepted a fight with Nasrat Haqparast (2021) with horrendous preparations but earnt a classy unanimous decision.
PREDICTION
Makhachev’s knockout loss could be a blessing in disguise. It was a valuable learning curve and slap of reality, but it also diluted his hype to allow him to sneak up on the top contenders in the division, collecting wins and confidence.
He is even more prepared to take on Hooker now with his experience, but that said, we have a feeling that whoever wins will make it look easy. Makhachev will take Hooker down and suffocate him for five rounds, cinch a late submission or Hooker will knock him out.
Hooker’s only chance of defending the takedown is clipping Makhachev before or as he shoots in and he is more than capable of doing do. He has a four-and-a-half-inch arm and two-inch leg reach advantage with the technique and power to turn the lights out.
He is a brilliant range striker, but his most potent weapons here will be his elbows in the clinch and huge knees down the middle. Hooker has the technique to land a knee from range but if he times it when Makhachev shoots it in, it will be game over for the Russian.
Hooker is the heavy underdog but has the tools and cardio to pull-off the knockout. It is worth a punt, but we are backing the Russian to avoid the bony missiles and take Hooker down in reach round and he may just secure a submission in the championship rounds.
Prediction: Makhachev via Submission
Value Bet: Hooker via KO/TKO
ALEXANDER VOLKOV VS MARCIN TYBURA
Alexander Volkov (33-9) seems to be another uber talented fighter that just cannot manage the step-up into top contender status. He looked well on the way after knocking out former champion Fabricio Werdum (2018) to cap off a six-fight win streak and was seconds away from making it seven until Derrick Lewis (2018) unleashed hell on his jaw. He picked up an easy decision over Greg Hardy but the got wrestled to death by Curtis Blaydes. He was back on the march with brilliant knockouts over Walt Harris (2020) and Alistair Overeem (2021), but fell again and even getting out struck by Ciryl Gane back in June.
Marcin Tybura (22-6) has never quite climbed the ranks like Volkov but 14 fights deep into his UFC career, he is in the form of his life with five straight wins to go 9-5 in the big time. After getting slept by Shamil Abdurakhimov and Augusto Sakai (2019), Tybura won four in 2020, earning unanimous decisions over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin and Ben Rothwell before knocking out Hardy and then Harris this year in June.
PREDICTION
Tybura’s last three losses have all come via knockouts and Volkov is a better striker than all of those opponents. Styles makes match ups, but we are still backing Volkov.
Tybura is a very skilled striker and he will only be giving up a couple inches in arm and leg reach despite the height discrepancy but Volkov is technically superior and utilizes his range very well. If Tybura decides to stand with Volkov we expect him to fall into one of the Russian’s traps and eat a long straight right hand or left hook.
However, it will be a different fight if he decides to grapple. Tybura is no Blaydes but if he closes the distance and stays on Volkov like a rash, he has a chance in grinding out a decision. If he has any fight IQ, he will try, but we fancy Volkov’s takedown defence to create enough space to land the knockout.
Prediction: Volkov via KO/TKO
LI JINGLIANG VS KHAMZAT CHIMAEV
Li Jingliang (18-6) is back for his second outing of the year which is great to see as he as only fought three times since 2018. That year, Jake Matthews snapped a four-fight streak with a decision, but he bounced back with a unanimous decision of his own against Daichi Abe and then two brilliant TKO’s and ‘performance of the night’ bonuses over David Zawada and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Neil Magny then halted the momentum in his sole appearance of 2020, but he is back on track with a brilliant first-round knockout over the feared but rusty striker Santiago Ponzinibbio.
One of the biggest hype trains we have seen arrived at the UFC station last year where Khamzat Chimaev (9-0) proceeded to record the quickest three-fight win streak in modern UFC history. He ragdolled John Phillips submitting him in the second round, ragdolled Rhys McKee finishing him with ground-and-pound in the first round and the got fed Gerald Meerschaert and did not even need his wrestling boots, starching him in 17 seconds. However, COVID-19 hit him hard and was even contemplating retirement as he was suffering so badly, but thankfully, he returns and everyone is onboard.
PREDICTION
Although it was only Phillips and Meerschaert, Chimaev looked terrifying at middleweight and is even more of a beast down at welterweight. He will be the bigger man with a four-inch reach advantage and is clearly a monster wrestler with technique to match his power complimented by a crazy work rate.
That said he is still unproven at the highest level and Jingliang is a great test for him. He is experienced, well-rounded and has displayed knockout power of his own recently. His left hook in particular is devastating, and he can land it if Chimaev recklessly walks him down.
Jingliang also has thunderous kicks which are very effective when his opponents sit in range. However, Chimaev will not stay still for a second and will aggressively close the distance, not allowing Jingliang to wind up.
Jingliang has to be on the ball from the bell and look to counter. If he hesitates for a second Chimaev will be in his grill throwing power strikes before taking him down. As long as Chimaev has fully recovered and his gas tank has replenished, we expect him to close the seal the takedown like a rabid dog and put on a ferocious pace.
Unless Jingliang catches him with that left hook, we expect Chimaev to throw him around before sealing another finish.
Prediction: Chimaev via Submission
Value Bet: Jingliang to win
MAGOMED ANKALAEV VS VOLKAN OEZDEMIR
Magomed Ankalaev (15-1) is the man to watch in the light heavyweight division and he has steadily been climbing the ranks. We all remember his UFC debut where Paul Craig (2018) cinched a triangle in the last second of the fight to steal the win. However, since then he has resumed putting on striking clinics. He knocked out Marcin Prachnio (2018) before earning a unanimous decision over Klison Abreu (2019) and then knocked out Dalcha Lungiambula (2019) with a picture-perfect front kick. He followed it up with a controversial stoppage and then a more convincing knockout over Ion Cutelaba (2020). He returned in February this year for his toughest fight but earnt another classy unanimous decision over Nikita Krylov to make it six in a row.
Volkan Oezdemir’s (17-5) resurgence got brutally halted by Jiri Prochazka in his only fight last year. He got assassinated cold in the second round after bouncing back after three straight losses. He got mauled and TKO’d in his title fight with Daniel Cormier (2018), submitted by Anthony Smith (2018) and then lost a split decision to Dominick Reyes (2019). He responded with a vintage knockout over Ilir Latifi (2019) and then a split decision over Aleksandar Rakic (2019) before the Czech monster crushed his momentum.
PREDICTION
This fight has gone completely under the radar and it is the perfect way to kick off the stacked UFC 267 main card. We have two special knockout artists and they size up very similarly physically. Ankalaev is more graceful and dynamic with every strike in the book whereas Oezdemir is a more conventional and compact striker with stunning power in his hands.
Oezdmir hands are incredibly dangerous and needs little wind-up to put people to sleep so he will try get close to Ankalaev and unleash in the pocket. The Russian will be well-aware of this and he will utilize his movement by constantly circling and offloading his arsenal of kicks to strike from range.
Oezdemir is always dangerous in a striking battle, but we feel Ankalaev will soon prove to be the best striker in the division. Oezdemir is worth a small punt considering the odds, but the Dagestani should have the nous to get the job done from his range.
Prediction: Ankalaev via KO/TKO
Value Bet: Oezdemir via KO/TKO
AMANDA RIBAS VS VIRNA JANDIROBA
We have not seen Amanda Ribas (10-2) since she got abruptly stopped in her tracks by Marina Rodriguez. She was riding a six-fight win streak winning her first five UFC fights in style. She submitted Emily Whitmire (2019), popped the hype of Mackenzie Dern (2019) with a unanimous decision following it up with another over Randa Markos (2020). She then submitted Paige VanZant (2020) but then ran into Rodriguez in January this year, getting rocked early and eventually finished to suffer the second knockout of her career.
Virna Jandiroba (17-2) is 3-2 in the UFC now and all her fights have been exciting, even her debut against Carla Esparza (2019), well for Esparza’s standards anyway. She lost that via unanimous decision and responded with the 12th and 13th submissions of her career adding Mallory Martin (2019) and Felice Herrig (2020) to the win column. She then lost a unanimous decision to fellow jiu-jitsu ace Dern but is coming off her first TKO win although it came as a result of Kanako Murata dislocating her elbow.
PREDICTION
This is odd matchmaking as it is a very similar match-up to Ribas’ fight with Dern. Jandiroba is also a high-level black in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with fledgling striking. With the confidence in her own jiu-jitsu, Ribas proceeded to dominate Dern with her wrestling and was completely undeterred by the skills of Dern, taking her down and keeping her pinned to the ground raining down strikes.
What is odd, is the fact that Jandiroba is just a worse version of Dern and Ribas has proven her skillset can nullify her. The only question mark is Ribas’ chin as it appears to be made out of glass. Jandiroba’s striking is nothing to write home about, but it is unpredictable and she swings wildly.
It could only take one clean hit from Jandiroba to cause the upset and it is worth a punt considering the odds, but we expect Ribas to avoid that threat by resorting to her wrestling and grinding out a decision. She has the striking to completely outclass her on the feet, but she has the tools to avoid the risk.
Prediction: Ribas via Decision
Value Bet: Jandiroba via KO/TKO
ANDRE PETROSKI VS YAOZONG HU
Andre Petroski (6-1) is getting his UFC career up and running after a somewhat disappointing showing on The Ultimate Fighter. He was the favourite going into the tournament and quickly submitted Aaron Phillips in the first round but then gassed out against the eventual winner Byran Battle getting submitted himself in the semis. He was gifted another chance at UFC Vegas 35 where he was handed Micheal Gilmore and it was a complete mismatch sealing the deal with a TKO in the third round.
Yaozong Hu (3-2) is coming off two losses and last fought in November 2018 serving a 10-month ban for a failed drugs test in the meantime. He started his professional career with a submission and knockout for the Daecheng Wuyi promotion in China and then earnt his second knockout over Abror Yakhyaev for Glory of Heroes. On his UFC debut in 2017, he got submitted by Cyril Asker up at heavyweight and then got outpointed by Rashad Coulter at light heavyweight to cap his unflattering record.
PREDICTION
Hu is desperate to fight after having two bouts with Alen Amedovski fall through this year and we have no idea what he has done to deserve a spot on this pay per view card, but it will be interesting to see him down at middleweight.
On paper, this looks like another mismatch in favour of Petroski. Hu is a heavy hitter, and we expect him to be aggressive despite the layoff. Petroski is an explosive wrestler, and he will hunt the takedown, hoping to get the fight to the ground and pile on the ground-and-pound.
Hu’s only chance here is finding the chin early or make it into the third round where Petroski is likely to fade with his suspect cardio and find a late knockout. In all likelihood, Petroski is going to take Hu down at will to earn a decision at least.
Prediction: Petroski via KO/TKO
ELIZEU ZALESKI DOS SANTOS VS BENOIT ST DENIS
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (22-7) makes his first appearance of the year after recovering from knee surgery. He has been forced to sit on the side lines stewing over his split decision loss to fellow striking phenom Muslim Salikhov in July last year which made it two losses from his last three. He earnt a unanimous decision over Alexey Kunchenko four months prior which came in response to getting TKO’d by Li Jingliang. That third round knockout snapped an incredible seven-fight win streak which included four vintage finishes.
He welcomes fellow finisher Benoit St Denis (8-0(1)) to the octagon. The Parisian has a golden opportunity, announcing himself on a stacked pay per view card with one of the most exciting dance partners in the division. He is not proven at this level, but he has collected some decent wins under the Brave Combat Federation banner and he has finished all of his eight wins with seven submissions and a knockout.
PREDICTION
St Denis is a jiu-jitsu wizard, but he is fighting a UFC veteran with a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He will still love to duke it out on the floor, but he is going to have navigate through a whirlwind of capoeira and powerful strikes.
St Denis will trade on the feet, but as soon as he eats a big shot, he is going to shoot in. He needs to get this fight to the mat, just to make it even. However, we expect dos Santos to overwhelm him on the feet before getting taken down. St Denis is a quality fighter, but this is a terrible match-up for him on debut.
Prediction: Dos Santos via KO/TKO
MAKWAN AMIRKHANI VS LERONE MURPHY LOWDOWN
Makwan Amirkhani (16-6) is in a rough patch losing three of his last four although two of those were Shane Burgos and Edson Barboza. Burgos (2019) TKO’d him in the third round and he responded is classic Amirkhani fashion by wrapping Danny Henry (2020) up in an anaconda choke. He then took a beating from Barboza (2020) but managed to see the bell in a unanimous decision and is coming off a more disappointing loss to Kamuela Kirk back in June losing another unanimous decision.
Nobody is talking about Lerone Murphy (10-0-1) but he is unbeaten and coming off two quality wins over Ricardo Ramos (2020) and Douglas Silva de Andrade (2021). He was also handed a tough debut in the form of Zubaira Tukhugov (2019) and displayed some incredible defensive wrestling to earn a draw. He went on to knock Ramos out picking up a ‘performance of the night’ and earn a unanimous decision over Silva de Andrade.
MAKWAN AMIRKHANI VS LERONE MURPHY PREDICTION
Murphy looks like the real deal with buckets of potential, his only problem is that he has not been very active. Amirkhani on the other hand has and amassing some valuable experience against top fighters in the process.
We can expect Amirkhani to chain his takedown attempts together to try drag the fight into his domain where he will persistently look for submissions. Murphy is not on his level on the mat, but as we saw in the Tukhugov fight, he is very difficult to take down.
Amirkhani will look great in the first round, but if he fails in his takedowns, his gas tank will fade quickly which will allow Murphy to keep the fight on the feet and into his domain. If Amirkhani does get the Murphy down, he will be trouble but, his cardio will be crucial in weathering the early storm.
Considering Amirkhani is the underdog, a first or second round submission is a good shout. However, we are backing Murphy’s cardio and takedown defence to survive the first round and then come into his own on the feet where he will piece Amirkhani up with kicks and strikes to the body to set up late finish.
Prediction: Murphy via KO/TKO
Value Bet: Amirkhani via Submission