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Misha Cirkunov and Volkan Oezdemir battle in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night Stockholm on May 28th, 2017 at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Sweden. The event will be headlined by Sweeden’s own Alexander ‘Swedish Mauler’ Gustafsson and the hard-hitting Glover Teixeira.
Back in Business
After contract negotiations earlier in the year appeared to go sour, the UFC and Misha Cirkunov finally came to terms on a new deal and the Latvian contender is back in business. Cirkunov has been on a roll, winning eight fights in a row, including his first four bouts under the UFC banner. All of those eight victories have been by stoppage, hence making him one of the more dangerous new contenders at 205 pounds. Cirkunov is now ranked #7 in the UFC Light Heavyweight division and a win over the 5th ranked Oezdemir will put him even higher on the ranking ladder.
Swiss Oezdemir took a fight against Ovince St. Preux on short notice at UFC Fight Night 104 and surprised many by outworking OSP and hacking out a win over the former interim title contender. The win over St. Preux was his promotional debut and he’s won three in a row since suffering his first loss at Bellator 115 three years ago. He looks to solidify his hold of a Top 5 ranking and increase his chances of earning a title fight.
Odds and Prediction
Cirkunov is the favorite here at -350 while Oezdemir is at +290. Oezdemir lands an impressive 5.47 strikes per minute, which is more than Cirkunov’s 3.97. However, the real striking story is on the other side of the stats, Cirkunov absorbs only 2.28 strikes per minute while Oezdemir gets hit with 5.07 striker per minute. That’s a significant difference especially since Oezdemir is fighting a powerful striker who has a two inch reach advantage in Cirkunov.
The grappling side is one-sided as Cirkunov is a submission artist at heart. Five of his last seven bouts have ended in a submission and despite his punching power, he likes to take his opponents to the ground and tap them out. It’s also interesting to note that Oezdemir’s only defeat in 2014 came by submission. It could turn out to be a good fight but the better man will win. We’re picking Cirkunov to win this fight whichever way.
