In a light heavyweight bout in the main event, Nassourdine Imavov and Sean Strickland meet Saturday at UFC Fight Night 217 — also known as UFC Vegas 67 — at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC Fight Night 217: Imavov vs. Strickland odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.
The fights can be viewed on ESPN+ with the prelims set to begin at 4 p.m. ET and the main card starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Imavov was originally expected to face Kelvin Gastelum, but he was forced to pull out due to a mouth injury suffered in training. The French fighter has picked up 3 consecutive victories, including a pair of KO/TKO wins in the 2nd round against Ian Heinisch (July 2021) and Edmen Shahbazyan (Nov. 2021). He also posted a unanimous-decision win over Joaquin Buckley last time out in Sept., improving to 4-1 in his career at the UFC level.
Strickland is looking to stop a 2-bout losing skid, including a split-decision setback to Jared Cannonier in the main event last time out in mid-Dec. He was also knocked out in the first round by Alex Pereira in the prior outing in July.
Strickland gives up 2 inches in height, but he has a 1-inch reach advantage. He lands 5.59 significant strikes per minute to 4.08 for Imavov, although the latter is a little more accurate at 59.45% to just 42.83% for Strickland.
Strickland is tremendous notching takedowns, including a 62.96% takedown accuracy percentage to just 23.53% for Imavov. The Frenchman’s submission average is 2.38-to-0.26 over Strickland.
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UFC Fight Night 217: Imavov vs. Strickland odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Imavov -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | Strickland +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Over/Under: 4.5 rounds (Over +102 | Under -140)
- Will the fight go the distance? Yes (-107) | No (-127)
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UFC Fight Night 217: Imavov vs. Strickland picks and predictions
Records: Imavov (12-3-0) | Strickland (25-5-0)
Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)
Imavov was expecting to fight Gastelum, and it’s difficult to switch gears and prepare for another fighter mid-camp.
STRICKLAND (+115) is an even more dangerous fighter to switch to mid-stream through a camp, as he can beat you in a number of ways. He punches frequently and with power, and is tremendous at getting the fight to the mat.
Strickland might not be as keen to go to the canvas as usual since Imavov is a tremendous wrestler with submission ability, but it’s possible he can win on points, or via KO/TKO.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 4.5 ROUNDS (+102) at plus money is a terrific value in this fight.
Strickland has gone the distance in 4 of his last 5 fights, and Imavov has gone the distance in 3 of his 5 bouts since arriving at the UFC level.
As far as the method of victory, STRICKLAND BY POINTS (+320) is worth a look at a chance to triple up.
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