Johnny Walker and Nikita Krylov will battle in a light heavyweight bout on the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 28 – also called UFC Fight Night 170 – at the Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia. The card kicks off in Brazil’s capital at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Walker (17-4-0) will be fighting on his home turf in Brazil, although the advantage won’t be as great as normal since the fight will be in an empty arena due to the coronavirus situation.
The lanky Walker stands 6-foot-6, three inches taller than Krylov. In addition, he had a distinct 4 1/2-inch reach advantage. Walker also has the arrow pointed in his favor as far as Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute (LPM), leading slightly 5.17-4.86. He is much more accurate with his strikes, however, hitting to the tune of a 69.13 percent Significant Strike Accuracy to 57.6 percent for Krylov. While Walker trails in Takedown Average at 1.06 to 0.75, Walker is 100 percent in Takedown Accuracy to 38.46 percent, and his Submission Average is 2.26 to 1.90 for Krylov.
Walker will be looking to bounce back after being knocked out by Corey Anderson last time out at UFC 244. Before that he was on a nine-bout winning streak, including 3-0 in the UFC since his debut knockout win of Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Fight Night (Nov. 17, 2018). He also made quick work of a very good fighter in Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235, recording a knockout in just 36 seconds.
Krylov, who fights in the style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is coming off a split-decision setback to Glover Teixeira. He has dropped two of his past three bouts, although he has fought some of the division’s top fighters in Teixeira, Ovince Saint Preux and Jan Blachowicz. If you’re looking for common opponents, Krylov lost to Cirkunov via first-round submission at UFC 206.
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:35 a.m. ET.
Place a sports bet on this mixed martial arts action or other events at BetMGM.
Johnny Walker vs. Nikita Krylov betting odds
Per BetMGM, WALKER (-143) is a moderate favorite over Krylov (+120) on the 2-way line. As such, Walker isn’t a bad standalone play since the risk isn’t too severe. If he wins, it will likely be done by knockout. As such, Walker by KO/TKO or DQ (+105) is a sharp play.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Walker at -143 returns a profit of $6.99. If you bet the underdog Krylov, a $10 wager nets a profit of $12.00.
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