UFC 267 main card preview, best bets & value plays – 30/10/2021

While the two championship fights of Jan Blachowicz vs Glover Teixeira and Petr Yan vs Cory Sandhagen could be fairly competitive, the rest of the card at UFC 267 features some pretty lopsided matchups. Three of the UFC’s top young prospects in Islam Makhachev, Magomed Ankalaev and Khamzat Chimaev will get the chance to showcase their talents on the main card this Saturday night.

Lightweight: Islam Makhachev (-640) vs Dan Hooker (+455)

Islam Makhachev (20-1-0) produced yet another dominant performance in his submission win over Thiago Moises in July, improving to 8-0 in his last eight fights in the process. Dan Hooker (21-10-0) bounced back from his first-round knockout loss to Michael Chandler in January with a decision win last month over Nasrat Haqparast. Hooker has jumped in to take this fight after Rafael dos Anjos was forced to pull out of it with an injury.

It’s a testament to how good Makhachev is that a well-respected and dangerous fighter like Hooker is being listed as such a massive underdog. Makhachev’s smothering wrestling technique draws regular comparisons to his trainer Khabib Nurmagomedov. A victory here should be another step towards the inevitable UFC Lightweight Championship fight in Makhachev’s future.

Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov (-275) vs Marcin Tybura (+235)

Alexander Volkov (33-9-0) will be looking to bounce back from a decision loss to Ciryl Gane back in June with a win this Saturday against Marcin Tybura. Volkov has compiled a respectable 7-3 record across 10 fights with the UFC, but has consistently failed to take the next step against the heavyweight division’s top opponents.

This fact makes Volkov the perfect test for Marcin Tybura (22-6-0), who has strung together five straight wins in the division. A win over Volkov would indicate that Tybura may deserve a shot against a top heavyweight, while a loss would suggest that he still needs more time. We lean towards Volkov getting the job done and remaining in his normal spot at the top of the “best of the rest” club.

Welterweight: Khamzat Chimaev (-575) vs Li Jingliang (+385)

Khamzat Chimaev (9-0-0) has won all nine of his professional matches by stopping his opponents with six knockouts and three submission wins. He became an overnight star when he submitted John Phillips and knocked out Rhys McKee last year in two matches that were only 10 days apart. After a 13-month hiatus caused by COVID-19 complications, Chimaev returns and will try to pick up where he left off against Li Jingliang.

Jingliang (18-6-0) is 8-2 over his last 10 fights and 4-1 over his last five. Each of his last three wins have come by knockout. This looks like a decent spot to take a shot on the underdog. If Chimaev doesn’t show any signs of rust or issues with his lungs, he will win this fight as handily as the betting odds suggest. But seeing as Jingliang has never been knocked out and could very well have the conditioning edge here, we’ll take a stab.

Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev (-295) vs Volkan Oezdemir (+235)

Magomed Ankalaev (15-1-0) lost his first bout in the UFC via submission to Paul Craig in the final second of the bout. Since then, the 29-year-old is a perfect 6-0 with four knockouts. Volkan Oezdemir (17-5-0) is just 2-4 over his last six fights since opening his career with a 15-1 record. Ankalaev should extend his winning streak here to continue his climb up the rankings in the light heavyweight division.