Volkan Oesdemir vs Nikita Krylov -180
I have both of these guys ranked pretty closely as tier 2 fighers. Volkan has the edge standing up from a technical perspective while Krylov is the better grappler, and I think that is why Krylov is the favorite here. I feel that Volkan has shown a lot of maturity against Paul Craig in his last fight being able to back off him on the ground. I also feel that Krylov’s last win against Gustafson doesn’t really move the needle much for me. Volkan has the opportunity to move back up in the Ranks and he has had the harder schedule up to this point. The reason I am betting Volkan Oosdemir is because of his defense. His Takedown defense is 86% while Krylov’s accuracy is only 35%. I also like how Volkan beat other ground guys such as Latifi and OSP. I honestly have this fight more of a pick-em. When there is a dog of this size in a pick-em fight, you always take the dog.
Volkan +150 – 1.5 stars
Islam Makachev vs Chales Oliveira +150
I have been waiting for this matchup since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired. If you like Charles this fight, it is certainly because of how he has performed against some of the greatest competition in the light weight class. But my question is, who is he best grappler that Charles has beaten? Most Chuck’s best wins were stand up fighters such as Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje. Islam will have the advantage on the ground who has a better take down average at 3.41 to 2.46, better take down accuracy at 65% to 40%, and better take down defense at 88% to 57%. Minus Oliveira’s nasty rear naked choke move, we really haven’t had to see Charles do a lot on the mat and that could be a big challenge for him against a guy from Eagle’s MMA. Islam is the best pound for pound fighter that I have seen who is currently active thus far. He is a freight train and I compare him to Georgia in football. Strength of Schedule matters less if you are absolutely throttling your opponents. Getting Islam under the -200 is a bargain to me, and I do not think that it will happen again for a long time.
Lay it with Islam -175 – 3 stars
