UFC Vegas 67 Breakdowns & Predictions
When is UFC Fight Night 217? Saturday 14th January, 2023 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 217? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 217? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night
What channel is UFC Fight Night 217 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 217? 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!
SEAN STRICKLAND VS NASSOURDINE IMAVOV
Sean Strickland (25-5) puts his hand up to replace Kelvin Gastelum on short notice. He is no doubt crazy enough to take on a middleweight contender or maybe it is because he has just lost two on the bounce and desperate to get back on track. The current champion Alex Pereira snapped the six-fight win streak back in July taking less than three minutes to bury him. He returned last month for another tough fight in Jared Cannonier and just missed out on a razor thin split decision.
Nassourdine Imavov (12-3) is beginning to fill the potential the European fans have desperate to witness for a long time. His only loss in his last 10 came on his second UFC outing coming up short in a majority decision to Phil Hawes (2021). However, since then he has gone on a tear ruthlessly knocking out Ian Heinisch (2021) and Edmen Shahbazyan (2021) before earning a classy unanimous decision over Joaquin Buckley four months ago.
PREDICTION
This is at light heavyweight as Strickland was never going to make 185 lbs. He is essentially a boxer so the extra weight will not make much difference but it will come in handy in the grappling exchanges. They match up similarly physically with Imavov boasting three inches in height and Strickland boasting an inch in reach.
Imavov has a full camp behind him however, Strickland’s cardio will be better. Imavov’s endurance is an area for improvement whereas Strickland is always in fight shape and his style is well suited for five rounds.
Expect Strickland to go about business as usual by walking Imavov down and suffocating him with his pressure. He will offload a relentless output with his hands and gradually wear Imavov down. If this goes past the third round, he will be in his element praying on a fatigued Frenchman.
Imavov is a brilliant striker with a more diverse attack, but if this stays on the feet, Strickland will chip away and get stronger with each round. If Imavov starts quick and fires off leg kicks to slow Strickland down, he can make this competitive, but he has to dictate the early pace.
If Strickland starts to land at will, expect Imavov to initiate his grappling. Strickland is an underrated grappler so the exchanges will be very competitive especially in the clinch. In summary, we expect this to be even everywhere and if Imavov executes a good strategy he can collect his biggest win.
However, despite the lack of preparation, we feel Strickland’s cardio and experience will pay dividends and his output will sway the judges.
Prediction: Strickland via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Strickland via Decision
DAN IGE VS DAMON JACKSON
After his controversial decision win over Edson Barboza, Dan Ige (15-6) was on a six-fight win streak and putting himself into featherweight title contention. However, those wins led him into the path of Calvin Kattar (2020) who simply had too much class on the feet. Ige bounced back with a ruthless knockout over Gavin Tucker (2021). However, he is now coming off three straight unanimous decision losses to the Korean Zombie (2021), Josh Emmett (2021) and Movsar Evloev (2022) derailing all of his momentum.
Damon Jackson (22-4-1(1)) on the other hand is in the form of his life. After getting smoked by Ilia Topuria (2020) in the first round, he has strung four impressive wins together. He outpointed Charles Rosa (2021), submitted Kamuela Kirk (2022), earnt another unanimous decision over Daniel Argueta (2022) and is coming off a TKO and ‘Performance of the Night’ over Pat Sabatini (2022).
PREDICTION
Jackson has of all the form, but this is a very tough fight for him. Ige is 1-4 in his last five, but he has fought a bunch of killers amassing some priceless experience. He will be giving up four inches in height, but they have the same reach which will be important on the feet.
He is a better striker with crisp boxing and has a spear for a jab. Jackson’s bread and butter is his grappling, so he should waste no time in trying to get the fight to the ground. The problem for him is that Ige has brilliant takedown and submission defence.
Ige has never been submitted or even knocked out. He is incredibly durable and considering he is the better striker, Jackson’s best chance is to shut him down with his wrestling and grind out a decision.
However, we expect Ige to fend off the majority of takedown attempts and piece Jackson up on the feet. He is the favourite and we are backing him to earn a decision at least with a knockout representing the value bet.
Prediction: Ige via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Ige KO/TKO
PUNAHELE SORIANO VS ROMAN KOPYLOV
Punahele Soriano (9-2) is coming off a huge win. He suffered adversity against Dalcha Lungiambula but rallied back to knock him out back in July, but it was a ‘Performance of the Night’ and it came off the back of two losses. The first was a unanimous decision to Brendan Allen (2021) and a split one to Nick Maximov (2022).
Not only does Roman Kopylov (9-2) have the same record, he has also recently notched up a brutal knockout to prevent a three-fight skid. His UFC job was hanging by a thread after getting submitted by Karl Roberson (2019) and outpointed by Albert Duraev (2021). After another long layoff, he met Alessio Di Chirico back in September and blasted him away in the third round.
PREDICTION
This is great matchmaking, not only for the record and form but the fact that they are both dangerous and aggressive strikers. Soriano has less technique but more power throwing nuclear bombs whereas Kopylov throws more combinations and keeps up a steadier pace throughout the fight.
Soriano struggles to pace himself, but he has the takedown in the locker and the ability to capitalize on Kopylov’s suspect takedown defence. A knockout could fall either way but Soriano’s wrestling swings this in his favour for us.
Prediction: Soriano via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Kopylov to win
KETLEN VIEIRA VS RAQUEL PENNINGTON LOWDOWN
Although Ketlen Vieira (13-2) is coming off a controversial win, it was the biggest of her career which boosted her up to the number two spot in the bantamweight rankings. She managed to convince two of the judges that she did enough to earn a decision over the former champion Holly Holm (2022). That made it two decision wins in a row over former champions after a more convincing performance over Miesha Tate (2021).
Raquel Pennington (14-8) has not had much success over champions with losses to Amanda Nunes (2018), Germaine de Randamie (2018) and Holly Holm (2015 and 2020). However, after her last loss to Holm, she has been on a roll with unanimous decisions over Marion Reneau (2020) and Pannie Kianzad (2021), a submission over Macy Chiasson (2021) and another unanimous decision over Aspen Ladd in April last year.
KETLEN VIEIRA VS RAQUEL PENNINGTON PREDICTION
An impressive win here should put one of these ladies in title contention but neither of them do anything for Nunes and they will most likely have to do more work to earn a shot especially Pennington who called mauled by the Lioness.
Pennington will try and walk Vieira down, closing the distance with her boxing and mix in clinch work and takedowns to subdue the Brazilian. She has the power to control most bantamweights, but Vieira is also very strong and a black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu which makes this very interesting.
We expect this to be competitive everywhere with both fighters finding success on the feet and in the grappling exchanges. Vieira has the edge when it comes to jiu-jitsu and Pennington has the edge when it comes to experience and striking technique, particularly her defence.
We feel their skills will cancel each other for the most part preventing a finish so a decision is most likely. It can fall either way so go for the underdog.
Prediction: Vieira via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Pennington via Decision
UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV VS RAONI BARCELOS
The dark horse of the bantamweight division Umar Nurmagomedov (15-0) makes an early appearance after two outings last year. After submitting Sergey Morozov two years ago we did not see him for over a year. However, it was worth the wait as he went on to wrap up another rear-naked choke, this time on Brian Kelleher (2022) and followed that up with a unanimous decision over Nate Maness back in June.
Not many people were expecting Raoni Barcelos (17-3) to be on a two-fight skid after steamrolling his first five UFC opponents. Timur Valiev (2021) inflicted his first defeat in nine fights with a majority decision and then Victor Henry made it two decision losses in a row (2022). However, Barcelos is back in the win column with a unanimous decision of his own against Trevin Jones back in October.
PREDICTION
This is a very high-level fight to kick off the main card. Nurmagomedov has some of the strongest grappling in the division with striking that continues to improve. Barcelos is also a grappler by trade as an accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. However, his striking is at a much higher level with a Muay Thai background.
Their skills make this a very compelling match-up. Barcelos is an extremely strong wrestler himself and has a 93% takedown defence. We expect that stat to take a dent here so it will be a question of how much damage he can land on the feet in between takedown attempts.
Nurmagomedov’s striking is underrated and we can see him testing his ego. Considering Barcelos is a colossal underdog, he represents the only value bet. However, we feel it will only be a matter of time before the Russian calls upon his bread and butter, ties Barcelos up and suffocates him long enough to earn a decision.
Prediction: Nurmagomedov via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Barcelos to win
JAVID BASHARAT VS MATEUS MENDONCA
Javid Basharat (13-0) kicks off 2023 hoping to extend his unbeaten record. He has impressively risen to the UFC standards with two unanimous decision wins after his submission over Oron Kahlon (2021) on the Contender Series. He added Trevin Jones (2022) and Tony Gravely (2022) to the dub column and was hoping for a big name.
Mateus Mendonca (10-0) was not the name he was after making his UFC debut but he is also an unbeaten bantamweight prospect. After his unanimous decision win over Pedro Nobre (2020) he did not return to action for over two years. He eventually appeared in September last year on the Contender Series and it could not have gone better knocking out Ashiek Ajim in under a minute to earn the call-up.
PREDICTION
One prospect has to fall. Basharat has two UFC fights in the bank which is valuable experience. He also boasts a three-inch height advantage, but he will be giving up two inches in reach.
Mendonca has the debut pressure but we still expect him to come out the gate aggressively throwing wild shots hoping to find the chin. If he continues to miss the mark he will shoot for a takedown which is a strategy has served him well so far in his career.
However, this is his toughest match-up by a distance. Basharat is very technical, and he will be ready to counter the looping shots. He is also a solid grappler with good defensive wrestling and is also a submission threat off his back.
Considering the odds, the Brazilian is a no brainer. He hits hard and is full of confidence, but this is a very tough match-up for him and we are backing Basharat to earn a decision at least.
Prediction: Basharat via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
ABDUL RAZAK ALHASSAN VS CLAUDIO RIBEIRO
Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-3) is back in the slump. After reeling off three vintage knockouts on the spin, he lost three – a unanimous decision to Mounir Lazzez (2020), a knockout to Khaos Williams (2020) and a unanimous decision to Jacob Malkoun (2021). He bounced back in classic Alhassan fashion by folding Alessio Di Chirico (2021) with a head kick, but he is back in the loss column thanks to Joaquin Buckley. It was a close battle back in February last year and he just came up short in a split decision.
Now, he welcomes Claudio Ribeiro (10-2) to the big leagues. He is coming in hot after knocking out his last six victims. His only knockout that was not in the first round came under the Future FC banner against Kelles Albuquerque (2021) who he forced to retire in the fifth round. He then followed that up with his 10th career knockout over Ivan Valenzuela on the Contender Series back in August.
PREDICTION
Considering 100% of their combined wins (22) have come via knockout, we have a good idea of what to expect here. Alhassan has the better experience, but Ribeiro boasts a four-inch reach and three-inch height advantage.
There would not be a better time for Alhassan to leverage his judo especially as Ribeiro has suspect takedown defence. However, in all likelihood, they are going to exchange leather until one man gets put to sleep.
Alhassan has all of the skills and experience to get the job done here. However, Ribeiro is dangerous from range and if this goes deep into the second round, you have to back the Brazilian. A knockout either way is likely and we have a feeling a Ribeiro hook will land.
Prediction: Ribeiro via KO/TKO - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Alhassan via KO/TKO
JIMMY FLICK VS CHARLES JOHNSON FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 217? Saturday 14th January, 2023 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 217? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 217? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night
What channel is UFC Fight Night 217 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 217? 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!
JIMMY FLICK VS CHARLES JOHNSON
Jimmy Flick (16-5) emerges out of retirement two years after his last fight. It was an odd case with Flick on a four-fight win streak and coming off an incredibly flying triangle choke on Cody Durden (2020). He cited the lack of pay and benefits and seemed content in retirement but thankfully for the fans, he is back.
Jeff Molina was scheduled to welcome Flick back but now Charles Johnson (12-3) has the honours. He is coming off his first UFC win in a very close fight with Zhalgas Zhumagulov two months ago and came after a very tough debut. He met prospect Muhammad Mokaev (2022) and got ragdolled losing a unanimous decision.
PREDICTION
Flick is one-dimensional but his submission skills are no joke. He will waste no time in trying to get the fight to the ground but after his last fight, Johnson is not even safe from a submission on the feet.
Johnson was completely out grappled by Mokaev however if this fight hits the canvas he will be in serious trouble. That said, Johnson displayed some very impressive submission defence. He is a brilliant boxer and is a much better striker than Flick. He also has great cardio so if he can stuff the grappling, he will look great.
A Flick submission is an obvious pick, but we feel Johnson is good enough to defend the takedowns and win the wrestling and striking exchanges over the course of three rounds. Coming back from retirement after two years is another factor in why we are backing Johnson, but Flick is the smart pick.
Prediction: Johnson via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)