UFC Predictions: UFC 267: Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira

#3. UFC 267: The Main Card

Can Islam Makhachev use his dangerous grappling to take out Dan Hooker this weekend?

In the lightweight division, Islam Makhachev faces Dan Hooker. This will undoubtedly be the biggest test of Makhachev’s UFC career thus far. Hooker is a lanky, dangerous striker with a ridiculous chin and tons of heart. He’ll undoubtedly push the Dagestani hard from the off.

However, Makhachev is a special fighter who may well have the best wrestling in the division now his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov is gone. It’s hard to see Hooker stopping his takedowns and so Makhachev, via decision, is the pick.

In a heavyweight clash, Alexander Volkov faces Marcin Tybura. This should be a tricky fight to call, as both men have excellent skills in all areas and can finish in ruthless fashion. Quite how Tybura can deal with Volkov’s ludicrous 80” reach is another thing, though, so the pick is ‘Drago’ via decision.

In a welterweight bout, uber-prospect Khamzat Chimaev finally returns to take on Li Jingliang. Jingliang is more than capable of pulling an upset here. He’s a sneakily hard-hitting striker with finishing skills and his ground game is excellent too.

Chimaev on the other hand, assuming he’s fit and healthy, has that Dagestani blend of powerful wrestling and heavy hands that seems tricky to stop. This fight could be the one that shows once and for all he’s the real deal. The pick is Chimaev via KO.

Finally, Magomed Ankalaev faces his biggest test in the form of Volkan Oezdemir in a light heavyweight clash. This should be an excellent fight, as Ankalaev might be the best prospect in the division right now, another hard-hitting Dagestani with top-class wrestling.

Oezdemir promises to be his toughest opponent yet, though, as he’s got brutal KO power in his strikes and is incredibly durable, too. However, the fact that he was knocked out violently in his last fight is worrying, as is the fact that he hasn’t faced a wrestler as good as Ankalaev since he fought Daniel Cormier in 2018. Therefore, the pick is Ankalaev via third round TKO.

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#4. UFC 267: The Prelims

Women's strawweight division: Amanda Ribas vs. Virna Jandiroba

Featherweight division: Ricardo Ramos vs. Zubaira Tukhugov

Middleweight division: Albert Duraev vs. Roman Kopylov

Light heavyweight division: Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Shamil Gamzatov

Featherweight division: Makwan Amirkhani vs. Lerone Murphy

Middleweight division: Hu Yaozong vs. Andre Petroski

Lightweight division: Damir Ismagulov vs. Magomed Mustafaev

Flyweight division: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Allan Nascimento