The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s next stop will be held in Stockholm, Sweden for the fifth time in the promotion’s history for UFC Fight Night 109, with local hero Alexander Gustafsson set to take on knockout artist Glover Teixeira in the main event this Sunday, May 28th.
The two light heavyweight contenders are set to clash for a bid at a title shot against Daniel Cormier in what should be a closely-contested bout, while the rest of the event’s card is just as filled with unpredictable matchups. Who’ll prevail victorious from this Scandinavian spectacle? Let’s hear it from the internet’s MMA experts below.
The two-man panel at Combat Press, Chris Huntemann and Justyn Likes, are more inclined to side with the hometown favorite in Gustaffson (-340) to outduel Teixeira (+260) this Sunday. They mentioned that while the two are coming off unimpressive victories over relatively mediocre competition, it’s Gustaffson that has shown more explosiveness in his past, albeit losing efforts against the light heavyweight division’s true standouts, Jon Jones and reigning champion, Daniel Cormier.
As for the co-main event, Huntemann admitted that he doesn’t have as much knowledge as he wanted on Cirkunov (-400) and Oezdemir (+300). In turn, Likes defended Cirkunov and his current momentum that many may have overlooked. The Russian grappler managed to submit fan favorite Nikita Kyrlov the last time out, whereas Oezdemir only made his presence felt in the scene lately by stunning Ovince St. Preux as a replacement fighter back in February. Cirkunov, by the way, is on an eight-fight win streak.
Cage Rank
Match
Prediction
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira
Teixeira
Misha Cirkunov vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Cirkunov
Ben Saunders vs. Peter Sobotta
Saunders
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Omari Akhmedov
Akhmedov
Alex Nicholson vs. Jack Hermansson
Hermansson
Cage Rank bases its predictions more towards hard stats, and it was Teixeira this time around that has the upper hand on Gustaffson. The Brazilian figures to bear a better offense based on the numbers, having succeeded at connecting more than five percent of strikes and 10 percent of submissions than Gustaffson. Teixeira also has a 5-percent edge on submission and takedown defense.
Elsewhere on the card, the site gave Florida native Saunders (-130) a 66-percent chance at defeating Sobotta (EVEN), especially with a massive 25-percent difference at knocking out opponents with good defense compared to the 30-year-old German.
Various Professional MMA Fighters
Over at YouTube, MMA journalist James Lynch shared the video above compiling some quick takes from the sport’s very own competitors as for who they expect will emerge victorious in the main event.
Of the 10 fighters that chimed in on the upcoming match, eight of them sided with Gustafsson. Recently-retired welterweight standout, Patrick Cote, threw in his two cents at the end of the clip as for why he thinks Gustafsson will win, stating that the Swedish sensation has a more complete game and that Teixeira’s chin has gotten significantly softer of late.
