1. Ufc 251 Predictions Prelims
2. Ufc 151 Picks

Al Iaquinta vs. Donald Cerrone

Canadian Brad Katona, 27, had his last UFC fight on the UFC 231 card in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On the card, Katona fought and defeated Matthew Lopez via unanimous decision. The fight with Dvalishvili will be his third UFC fight. ”Superman” stands at 5 feet, 6 inches tall and has a 64.5 inch reach. Whats up guys, working on audio and lighting until we get it down. Thanks for the support. You guys are awesome.

Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 9:30 PM (Canadian Tire Centre)

The Line: Iaquinta -137 / Cerrone +123 -- Over/Under:Click to Get Latest Betting Odds

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Al Iaquinta and Donald Cerrone fight Saturday during UFC Fight Night 151 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Al Iaquinta enters this fight with a 14-4-1 record and has won 50 percent of his fights by knockout. Iaquinta has won nine of his last 11 fights and is coming off a December win over Kevin Lee. Iaquinta is averaging 4.3 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 41 percent. Iaquinta is averaging 0.81 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 23 percent. Iaquinta is coming off a second victory over Lee, a bout in which he landed 49 percent of his total strikes. However, some would say Lee was robbed in the rematch, so take the result with a grain of salt. Iaquinta has now gone to a decision in three of his last four fights and has been on the right side in six of his seven career decisions. Iaquinta is a powerful striker who lands 91 percent of his strikes standing up and has one shot knockout power. However, Iaquinta has improved as a grappler over the years and his conditioning is extremely impressive to the point where he still has knockout power late in fights and can be effective on the ground if needed. While at his best standing up in a striking brawl, Iaquinta is the only fighter to go five rounds with Khabib Nurmagomedov, so he’s more than comfortable being dragged into deep waters. This will be Iaquinta’s first career fight in Canada.

Donald Cerrone enters this fight with a 35-11 record and has won 49 percent of his fights by submission. Cerrone has split his last eight fights and is coming off a January win over Alexander Hernandez. Cerrone is averaging 4.2 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 48 percent. Cerrone is averaging 1.29 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 35 percent. Cerrone is coming off a clean head kick and viscous ground and pound to produce a second round knockout, and each of his last eight wins have been finishes. Cerrone has earned performance of the night honors in back-to-back fights and now has a chance to win three straight fights for the first time since 2016. Cerrone is a versatile fighter who is a well decorated kick boxer, a deep background in Muay Thai and is comfortable on the canvas to the point he has 17 career submission victories. A total of 27 of Cerrone’s 35 victories have come by some sort of stoppage. A polished wrestler who almost always has the edge on the canvas, Cerrone closes range well with those leg kicks and seems to always be comfortable in the octagon. This will be Cerrone’s fourth career fight in Canada.

It’s hard to find people who don’t root for Cowboy, as the guy is a true fighter who does things the right way and often finds ways to win when many are counting him out for whatever reason. It’s always worth considering him in the underdog role. The concerns here is that Iaquinta has some of the best boxing in the division and high level takedown defense, two things that are going to give Cerrone issues. Iaquinta is going to force his style of fight and the combination of pressure along with his boxing ability to going to make Cerrone uncomfortable.

This is a true toss-up fight, as Cerrone has the edge if they fight from the outside. Iaquinta has the edge if he can throw hands on the inside. I’m giving the edge to Iaquinta.

Derek Brunson vs. Elias Theodorou

Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 9:00 PM (Canadian Tire Centre)

Ufc 251 Predictions Prelims

The Line: Theodorou -102 / Brunson -112 -- Over/Under:Click to Get Latest Betting Odds

TV: ESPN+ Stream unmatched UFC coverage on ESPN+. Sign up now!

Ufc 151 Picks

Derek Brunson and Elias Theodorou fight Saturday during UFC Fight Night 151 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Derek Brunson enters this fight with a 18-7 record and has won 61 percent of his fights by knockout. Brunson has split his last eight fights and is coming off a November loss to Israel Adesanya. Brunson is averaging 3.12 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 43 percent. Brunson is averaging 2.35 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 24 percent. Brunson has now been knocked out in each of his last two fights and continues to leave himself exposed to head kicks and knees. Brunson has a boxing background and needs to close the distance to be effective, but seeing him get knocked out in three of his last six fights doesn’t provide much confidence moving forward. Brunson is an explosive fighter with a wrestling and boxing background, and he’s deadly when he’s able to apply pressure and control the pace. The problem is Brunson has struggled when fighters are able to slow things down and keep him at a distance. Brunson needs to be the aggressor and kind of be that wild fighter he was a couple of years ago when he was on an impressive winning streak. This will be Brunson’s first career fight in Canada.

Elias Theodorou enters this fight with a 16-2 record and has won 56 percent of his fights by decision. Theodorou has won five of his last six fights and is coming off a December win over Eryk Anders. Theodorou is averaging 4.17 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 43 percent. Theodorou is averaging 1.4 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 29 percent. Theodorou is coming off a split decision victory where he landed 204 strikes at a 46 percent clip. Theodorou has now won his last three fights and each of his last seven bouts have ended in decisions. Theodorou isn’t the sexiest fighter in the world, but he stays busy, controls distance well and is highly physical with his takedown attempts. Theodorou doesn’t have any knockout power that’s going to scare anybody, but he does use his legs well and has an above-average ground and pound if the bout goes to the canvas. Theodorou is a smart fighter who has never been finished and went the distance with Thiago Santos, so there’s nothing here that should scare him. Theodorou has fought most of his career in Canada, his birthplace.

Brunson is the more powerful, athletic fighter who also has a size advantage, so I can see why he’s the slight favorite. The problem is Brunson also has yet to put everything together and has become sloppy in his last several fights. Brunson has a weird habit of rushing in and thinking he’s going to end something, and it’s left him on the wrong side of some ugly losses. Theodorou is the smarter fighter and his style is probably going to frustrate Brunson, which leads to another mistake. The hype surrounding Brunson has really died these past few fights and I’m just not comfortable trusting him moving forward. Theodorou is also 12-0 as a pro when fighting his birthplace of Canada.

I like Theodorou and the cheaper price.