Andre Fili and Charles Jourdain square off in a featherweight fight on the main card at UFC Fight Night 172 Saturday at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas. The prelims kick off at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the main card set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+.
Entering this bout as a moderate favorite, Fili (20-7) has a two-inch height advantage and five-inch reach advantage. He is also an absolute beast on the canvas, posting a 2.49 takedown average and 45.61 takedown-accuracy percentage, although his submission average is just 0.19. Fili, nicknamed “Touchy,” had to be a little miffed about losing a unanimous decision bout to Sodiq Yusuff Jan. 18, 2020 on the UFC 246 card last time out, snapping a modest two-fight win streak. It was par for the course as far as results, however, as seven of Fili’s past eight have gone the distance, including five unanimous decisions (3-2).
Jourdain (10-2) holds a slim advantage over Fili in terms of significant strikes landed per minute at 4.85-4.00, and in significant strikes-accuracy percentage at 43.27 to 37.47. But the sample size is rather small, as Jourdain has fought just twice at the UFC level, winning last time out against Dooho Choi Dec. 21, 2019, and losing his UFC debut by unanimous decision to Desmond Green May 18, 2019. Jourdain likes to get the fights to the mat, especially trying to finish with the rear-naked choke or guillotine, but Fili is easily the most experienced fighter he’ll have faced to date, and the veteran won’t be tricked to the canvas easily.
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Andre Fili vs. Charles Jourdain betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday, June 11 at 5:25 a.m. ET.
FILI (-228) is a little pricey on the 2-way line, but the American will easily take care of “Air” Jourdain (+185) in this bout. The only question is how long will it take and by what method? We don’t have a lot of data on Jourdain, especially at the UFC level, but Fili tends to stand and punch it out. And Fili’s fights are usually not quickly finished, so rolling with YES (-154): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? should be a safe play.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Fili (-228) returns a profit of just $4.39, while a bet on Jourdain (+185) at $10 fetches a profit of $18.50. A $10 play on Yes (-154) for “Will the fight go the distance?” returns a profit of $6.49.
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