The UFC will go across the pond this March, as it stages UFC Fight Night 127 on Mar. 18 in London. The card is stacked with intriguing fights as usual, so expect solid bouts from top to bottom. Here are our previews for the event’s main card matchups.
Betting Preview for UFC Fight Night 127 – Featuring the Fabricio Werdum vs Alexander Volkov Heavyweight Bout on March 17, 2018
After losing to a close majority decision against Alistair Overeem in July, Fabricio Werdum is back to being a relevant figure in the heavyweight division, thanks to back-to-back wins over Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura. Werdum will enter the octagon against Alexander Volkov having won eight of his last 10 matches, which defies the natural trajectory of MMA fighters’ careers at age 40. Volkov is a striker with a 58 percent success rate on his strikes. Werdum is an experienced fighter who have seen it all inside the cage, and as a grappler, look for him to try to bring the fight to the mat to limit Volkov’s reach advantage. The 29-year-old Volkov, who has won all of his last 12 fights, has a three-inch advantage over Werdum.
WRITER’S PREDICTION: Werdum
Jan Blachowicz (+175) vs. Jimi Manuwa (-225)
Light Heavyweight
Jan Blachowicz is looking to extend his win streak to three fights against Jimi Manunwa. Blachowicz last fought in December, earning a three-round unanimous win over Jared Cannonier. His win over Devin Clark in October also earned Blachowicz a Performance of the Night honors from the UFC. Blachowicz owns a 21-7-0 record, and is a well-rounded fighter with five wins via knockout and eight by way of submissions. Manunwa, on the other hand, has the psychological advantage heading into this match, having beaten Blachowicz before in 2015. Manunwa is 17-3-0, and boasts of an explosive power, which he relied on in getting 15 wins by knockouts. He also has 11 wins inside the first round.
WRITER’S PREDICTION: Manunwa
Tom Duquesnoy vs. Terrion Ware
Bantamweight
Tom Duquesnoy (15-2-1, 1 no contest) is in search of a bounce-back win after falling prey to Cody Staman in October. He may just find it on Mar. 17 against Terrion Ware, and if he is to take down his American opponent, the French fighter will have to find a way to negate the three-inch reach advantage of Ware. Duquesnoy lands 3.37 strikes per minute on a 46.94 percent accuracy. He also has a better striking defense, avoiding 57.26 percent of opponents’ strikes. Ware, meanwhile, has won four of his last six bouts, though the two losses happened in his last two fights as well. Ware lands 4.93 strikes per minute, and will enter the fight with a 17-6-0 record.
WRITER’S PREDICTION: Ware
Leon Edwards vs. Peter Sobotta
Welterweight
Fighting out of Birmingham, England, Leon Edwards (14-3-0) should feel just at home inside O2 Arena, when he takes on Peter Sobotta. Edwards is a striker, which boasts o a 47.35 strikes landed per minute. That plays well with Sobotta’s strike defense that absorbs 2.9 blows per minute. Sobotta, however, is the more experienced fighter, so expect the Polish not to get too rattled by a pro-Edwards crowd. Sobotta (17-5-1) has won nine of his last 10 fights. He has five wins by knockout and 10 via submissions, which means most of his wins did were not dictated by the scorecards.
