Top Five October UFC Fights to Watch
Following some fantastic Fight Night cards, the UFC ends October with one more Fight Night and UFC 267. From upsets to outstanding performances here are a couple of fights that you can look forward to this month.
Honorable Mention: (C) Jan Blachowicz vs #1 Glover Teixeira
As the main event of UFC 267, this light heavyweight bout will be a battle between a dominant champion in Jan Blachowicz and a longtime veteran in Glover Teixeira. Teixeria earning his second ever UFC title match since 2014, will look to dethrone the current champ and win a title that he has worked hard for throughout his time in the UFC. Blachowicz the reining and defending champion, most recent win was against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya who jumped a weight class to become a double champ. Blachowicz changed that narrative dominating on the ground and feet. For this championship match, I like Blachowicz to win this fight just because of his ability to combine his striking power and takedowns. This is significant going against Teixeira who has lost via decision or KO. For Teixeria to win, he would have to take the fight to the ground and submit Blachowicz.
In an exciting main event between two top-five middleweights, Costa and Vettori is a fight that can either end as a slugfest or with a finish. Both fighters coming off losses against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya look to return back into the title picture with a win. I expect this fight to go the entire five rounds but I wouldn’t be surprised if Vettori mixes in his wrestling and Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu to win this fight early by submission. For Costa besides his heavy strikes and underrated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I question his cardio and ability to go the full five rounds.
In a premier matchup between top 10 light heavyweights, Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir this bout appears to be an underrated matchup that can end in a finish. For Ankaleav, he looks to climb the rankings and continue his six fight win streak which feature four wins ending in either KO or TKO. For the former light heavyweight title challenger Oezdemir his last five fights have not been great winning only two; losing three fights via finish or decision. In this fight, I predict a Ankalaev win via TKO but what makes Oezdemir worth a gamble is is wrestling and ability to ground & pound his opponents for the victory.
Photo credit to the UFC and Image from MMA On Point’s Twitter
To the average viewer, this bout between Chimaev and Jingliang, is something audiences wouldn’t place at the top of their list of must-watch fights. However, I’m here to convince you otherwise. Besides the co-main and main event of UFC 267, this bout will be fireworks. The reason being the storyline of a hyped UFC prospect vs a ranked veteran. For Chimaev although he was out of competition at the end of 2020 and for most of 2021 dealing with COVID-19, he was the hottest prospect in the UFC thanks to his comparisons to Khabib, personality, and dominating fighting style. Jingliang, on the other hand, a UFC veteran isn’t someone you should count out due to him winning four out of his last five bouts via TKO or decision. My questions surrounding this fight revolve around Chimaev and whether he has fully recovered as well as the factor of ring rust which although isn’t always real. Somehow becomes a factor for returning athletes. I predict an upset win for Jingliang as he will steal Chimaev’s hype and showcase why he deserves to be a top 15 ranked welterweight.
When it comes to Dan Hooker vs Islam Makhachev, you won’t get a matchup more highly anticipated than this one. Makhachev who is a future lightweight champion looks to continue his 8 fight win streak and prove doubters he is a real contender for the title. Makhachev coached by former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov also appears to continue the legacy left by Nurmagomedov. Dan Hooker, a top lightweight himself is back to climbing the ranks once again towards the title. Having recently fought on UFC 266, this bout will be a quick turnaround for Hooker. For this matchup, it is hard for me to pick who will one but I will say if Makhachev can dominate with his grappling and wrestling, it will be a easy night for him. However for Hooker if he can stop the takedowns, keep the fight on the feet, and outstrike Islam Hooker will once again be in the title picture.
Following the then bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling was unable to defend his title. Cory Sandhagen after consecutive knockouts over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar, suffered a narrow split decision versus Dillashaw, however with Dillashaw unable to fight, Sandhagen was next in line for the title. Petr Yan the former champ lost to Sterling via an illegal knee. What makes this match the most intriguing is that audiences will be showcased a high volume possible striking match. As Sandhagen a striking machine has the ability to put anyone out in an instance while Yan with his Muay Thai background can put a flurry of strikes with ease. In the end, I predict Sandhagen to win but if Yan can mix in his wrestling and take the fight to the ground Yan will have multiple chances to win.