UFC 249 Main Card - Preview & Picks

The Main Card for UFC 249 features two premier matchups although it is a little top-heavy. The Main Card will open with a featherweight fight between the seventh-ranked Jeremy Stephens and the ninth-ranked Calvin Kattar. This will be followed by a lightweight bout between the bottom two ranked fighters in the division in Islam Makhachev and Alexander Hernandez. The last fight before the main events will feature a light heavyweight match between the thirteenth ranked Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba. The co-main event is a number one contender's battle in the women's strawweight division between Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas, and the winner will face champion Weili Zhang at a later event. The huge fight scheduled for the main event will be a men's lightweight division title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

*Be sure to check back with us closer to UFC 249 for prop picks!*

*Odds provided courtesy of Bovada*

Stephens(+215) vs. Kattar(-275)

Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stephens comes into this fight with a 28-16-0 professional record with 19 of his wins coming via knockout and two more by submission. His last win came bck on February 24, 2018 although some of his losses in his UFC career have come to the likes of Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo to name a few. Calvin "The Boston Finisher" Kattar carries a 20-3-0 professional record into this bout with ten of those wins coming from knockouts and two more via submission. He holds a 3-2 record since January 2018 and is on a one fight losing streak after falling to Zabit Magomedsharipov by decision in his last piece of action.

PICK : Calvin Kattar(-275)

I predict this being more of a stand-up boxing match for the opening bout of the Main Card. Stephens achieves an average of 1.18 takedowns per 15 minute fghts while Kattar only gets 0.47 himself. However, Kattar is the slightly better striker, landing 41% of his strikes as opposed to 40% from his opponent. He also holds a two inch height advantage and a one inch reach advantage. Stephens hasn't won a fight since late February in 2018, and I don't expect him to win at UFC 249 either.

Makhachev(-400) vs. Hernandez(+300)

The second fight on the Main Event card is another nice matchup, this time featuring Islam Makhachev and Alexander "The Great" Hernandez. Makhachev brings a lot of experience to this bout with an 18-1-0 professional record. He's riding a six-fight win streak and owns seven career wins by submission with three knockout wins as well. Hernandez has a 10-2-0 career record and he owns a 3-1-0 record since joining UFC. Four of his career wins have come via knockout while two more came from submission.

PICK : Islam Makhachev(-400)

Although Hernandez is one of the good, young fighters in UFC and he has an inch and a half reach advantage, I don't see him being able to win here. Islam as won six straight and he's the much more dominant fighter here. Makhachev trains with Khabib, and he could be a legit title contender in the future. He has landed 61% of his strikes while Hernandez has only landed 48%. Islam's also efficient with his takedowns, landing 87% of them with an average of 3.4 a match while his oppenent has only landed 33% of his takedowns and only 1.52 per match.

Ankalaev(-275) vs. Cutelaba(+215)

The third fight on the Main Card of UFC 249 features a rematch from Fight Night 169 earlier this year between Magomed Ankalaev and the southpaw Ion "The Hulk" Cutelaba. Ankalaev owns a 13-1-0 career record and is riding a four-fight win streak, capped by a first-round knockout over Cutelaba last fight. He has five career wins by knockout and you won't see him take to the ground often. Cutelaba carries a 15-5-0 career record into this fight and 11 of his previous wins have come via knockout. He's only been 4-3 since joining the UFC however.

PICK : Magomed Ankalaev(-275)

Magomed just knocked out Cutelaba in the first round when they met at the end of February, and I don't see him losing in the rematch either. Cutelaba hasn't been the most solid fighter since his UFC debut. Meanwhile, Ankalaev has been outstanding lately, riding a four-fight win streak. Magomed has a two-inch height advantage and he lands 56.88% of his significant strikes while Cutelaba only lands 39.56%. Ankalaev is the superior striker and this should prove key for victory as he will complete the back-to-back sweep in this fight.

Co-Main Event : Andrade(+155) vs. Namajunas(-190)

The co-main event features a fun fight for a shot at a title fight between two former champions in Jessica "Bate Estaca" Andrade and Rose "Thug" Namajunas. Andrade brings more experience to this fight with a 20-6-0 career record. She owns seven wins by knockout as well as seven by submission. Namajunas is another UFC veteran, competing with the company since 2014. She owns a 9-4-0 career record and she is a submission specialist, with six wins by submission and only one win by knockout.

PICK : Jessica Andrade(+155)

Don't let Andrade being the smaller fighter scare you away. Before losing her title to Weili Zhang last fight, she knocked out the then-champion Namajunas in the second round to win the belt. She's four inches shorter and is giving three inches in reach advantage, but Andrade lands 6.55 significant strikes per minute with a 51.15% accuracy percentage while Namajunas only lands 3.95 per minute with only 42% accuracy. Andrade has a 75% takedown defense rating, and this tells us that she can keep this fight off the ground which she will have to do to defeat the submission specialist. Andrade has beaten Namajunas before so she knows what she has to do, and I believe she will get the job done and earn her rematch with Zhang for the title.

MAIN EVENT : Nurmagomedov(-310) vs. Ferguson(+240)

This is one of the most highly anticipated fights in UFC history. This is the fifth time UFC has tried to schedule this fight, with the others being called off for various reasons. Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov carries a 28-0-0 professional record into this fight, and has eight wins by knockout as well as eight wins by submission. He's successfully defended his title against Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, and he's putting the longest active MMA undefeated streak on the line against arguably his toughest opponent yet. Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson has a 26-3-0 career record with a 12 fight win streak. He hasn't lost a fight since May of 2012 and owns 12 wins by knockout with eight by submission. He won the title after McGregor was stripped of it, but had to relinquish it do to suffering a torn ligament.

PICK : Khabib Nurmagomedov(-310)

Don't get me wrong, Tony Ferguson is a great fighter, but Khabib is a whole other kind of beast. This will be somewhat of a chess match as Ferguson will attempt to keep this one standing up. Khabib attempts 5.09 takedowns per 15 minutes while Ferguson only attempts 0.6 per 15 minutes. Ferguson's 77% takedown defense percentage won't be enough to keep this one from going to the ground, and that's the worst thing that can happen for Tony. Ferguson has a six and a half inch reach advantage, and he does land 5.51 significant strikes per minute although he absorbs 3.55 a minute. Khabib lands only 4.29 significant strikes per minute, but he's only hit with 1.7 significant strikes a minute and he's incredibly hard to hit despite usually giving up a reach advantage. Ferguson is going to have to have one of the best fights in his career, and although I believe this fight will go the distance, I see Khabib winning via decision as Ferguson won't be able to defend evey takedown and I don't predict him landing a ton of strikes either.

*BONUS BET* Fight Goes To Decision (+135 via BetDSI)

There isn't a ton of prop action around for this event yet, but I see this one and I love it. Both of these guys are great strikers and I see Khabib trying to force this contest to the ground and fight at a slower pace. Ferguson will no doubt be shooting for the KO/TKO as only five of his 25 career wins have been by decision, although Nurmagomedov has never even lost a professional fight, much less by knockout. This is possibly going to be one of the best fights in UFC history, and I fully believe that this one will go the distance as these two try to feel each other out and look for an advantage.