MMA Preview – Marc Diakiese vs Rafael Alves at UFC Fight Night 197
MARC DIAKIESE VS RAFAEL ALVES FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 197? Saturday 13th November, 2021 - 19:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 197? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 197? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC Fight Night 197 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 197? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
MARC DIAKIESE VS RAFAEL ALVES LOWDOWN
Marc Diakiese (14-4) finally returns for his first fight since July last year. It was on Fight Island for UFC Fight Night 172 and unfortunately for him, it was against Rafael Fiziev who outclassed him to a unanimous decision. That made it four losses in his last six and although we feel Diakiese has never quite lived up to his potential, he has fought absolute studs. He suffered a three-fight skid losing a split decision to Drakkar Klose (2017), getting submitted by Dan Hooker (2017) and a unanimous decision to Nasrat Haqparast (2018). He did bounce back with unanimous decisions over Joe Duffy (2019) and Lando Vannata (2019) but another loss here will be a huge setback.
Rafael Alves (19-10) is another dangerous man with 14 finishes (seven knockouts and seven submissions) out of his 19 wins. One of those submissions earnt him a UFC contract when he choked out Alejandro Flores Garcia on the Contender Series last year. He was then handed a harsh match-up for his debut after fights with Mike Trizano and Pat Sabatini were cancelled. He met Damir Ismagulov who extended his staggering 18-fight win streak with a unanimous decision back in May.
MARC DIAKIESE VS RAFAEL ALVES PREDICTION
There are a lot of exciting fights on the card, but this could easily be the ‘fight of the night’. Diakiese is one of the most electric strikers on the entire roster and is also very durable having never been knocked out.
Alves is extremely aggressive and explosive and hunts the submission as aggressively as the knockout. He managed to knock Ismagulov down but that is simply a sign of how dangerous he is in the first round.
As long as Diakiese gets into the second round, we back his skills and experience to bag rounds two and three. He is a better striker and training at the Allstars Gym with the likes of Alexander Gustafsson and Khamzat Chimaev will only make him a better fighter.
Prediction: Diakiese via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
