Light heavyweight knockout artist Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba (15-4, 12 KOs, 2 SUBs) will meet Dagestani prospect Magomed Ankalaev (11-1, 6 KOs) at UFC on ESPN+ 27 on Saturday, February 29 at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. The card airs live on ESPN+ starting at 8pm ET.
This weekend’s light heavyweight tilt between Ion Cutelaba and Magomed Ankalaev is quietly one of the more intriguing fights of the night. They’re both young - especially for the division - and have shown a lot of promise early on in their careers.
At 26 years old, Cutelaba is already a dangerous knockout - but he has yet to string together a significant winning streak. He’s beaten some decent guys in Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Henrique da Silva and Khalil Rountree, but losses to Misha Cirkunov, Jared Cannonier and Glover Teixeira could mean that his ceiling is that of a reliable midcard guy - which would be a disappointment considering just how hard this dude hits.
Ankalaev is 27 and looks like a future top 7 guy already. In his UFC debut, the Dagestani was submitted by Paul Craig in the last second of a fight he was handily winning. Since that flash submission defeat, he’s handily won three straight, earning knockouts in two of those fights. Clearly a level above the hangers-on of the division, Ankalaev is stepping up into middle-tier competition against Cutelaba.
The UFC odds at BookMaker.eu opened with Ankalaev as a clear favorite, but let’s take a deeper look at the matchup and break down whether Cutelaba is a live ‘dog. Live UFC betting at the online sportsbook is also available if you want to make any bets during the fight.
Ion Cutelaba +161
Magomed Ankalaev -205
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: +170 / -230
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Cutelaba 5.24 / Ankalaev 3.05
Striking accuracy: Cutelaba 38% / Ankalaev 53%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Cutelaba 3.21 / Ankalaev 1.33
Striking defense: Cutelaba 48% / Ankalaev 67%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Cutelaba 1.64 / Ankalaev 0.45
Takedown accuracy: Cutelaba 66% / Ankalaev 33%
Takedown defense: Cutelaba 80% / Ankalaev 83%
Submission average: Cutelaba 0 / Ankalaev 0
Bet this fight at the online sportsbook
It should come as no surprise that Ankalaev is a strong wrestler with lethal ground and pound - after all, he hails from Dagestan. However, Ankalaev is anything but one-dimensional. In fact, he hasn’t relied much on his wrestling inside the octagon, averaging less than a takedown per 15 minutes. His ability and willingness to kickbox has been a pleasant surprise, and two head kick knockouts in his past three fights should give you an idea of a diverse striking arsenal.
Despite seven trips to the octagon, Cutelaba hasn’t evolved from being a brawl-or-nothing fighter. Against lesser skilled guys, the Moldovan’s fast hands and frightening power is just way too much. But for seasoned vets and skilled strikers, the obvious and achievable gameplan is to bide time until Cutelaba blows his wad. We’ve seen him gas as soon as the second round, at which point he becomes easy prey.
The question here is whether Cutelaba will fight more intelligently as he moves into his prime fighting years. He has all the tools to be an excellent sprawl-and-brawler with undisputed stopping power. Fighting that type of fight would give him an excellent chance of beating Ankalaev, but we’ve yet to see that version of Cutelaba and it’s questionable if we ever will.
UFC Odds Pick: Ankalaev to win at -205
We lean on the Russian fighter’s more well-rounded approach - he has several major advantages and his weaknesses are far less pronounced than his opponent’s. Though Ankalaev doesn’t have the same killshot power as Cutelaba, it’s not like he’ll be outclassed on the feet. And if things do get hairy in that area, there’s always the option to turn it into a classic Dagestani grind.
Bet on UFC odds at BookMaker.eu now!
