MMA Preview – Philipe Lins vs Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 229
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PHILIPE LINS VS ION CUTELABA FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 229? Saturday 7th October, 2023 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 229? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 229? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night
What channel is UFC Fight Night 229 on? TNT Sports 1
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 229? TNT Sports subscribers can stream the fight online via the TNT Sports website and Discovery+
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!
PHILIPE LINS VS ION CUTELABA LOWDOWN
Philipe Lins (17-5) is unbeaten since dropping down to 205 lbs. After winning the 2018 Heavyweight PFL tournament, he continued his heavyweight quest, but quickly realized he was too small to hang with the big boys in the UFC. He lost a unanimous decision to Andrei Arlovski (2020) on debut and then got knocked out by Tanner Boser (2020) who has also dropped down a division. Now, he has found his feet outpointing Marcin Prachnio (2022), knocking out Ovince Saint Preux (2023) and earning another unanimous decision over Maxim Grishin four months ago.
Ion Cutelaba (17-9-1(1)) keeps pulling wins out the bag preserving his UFC shelf life. After going without a win in two years, he managed to earn a unanimous decision over Devin Clark (2021). He then had a miserable 2022 getting submitted by Ryan Spann and Johnny Walker before eating Kennedy Nzechukwu’s knee. With his job on the ropes back at UFC on ESPN 44 in April, he managed to knock Boser out in the first round.
PHILIPE LINS VS ION CUTELABA PREDICTION
Lins will boast a three-inch reach advantage over Cutelaba although he will not hold the advantage when it comes to power and explosiveness.
If the Moldovan can put everything together, he can threaten anyone in the division. He possesses knockout power in his hands and is a very strong grappler hailing from a sambo and judo background.
However, his decision making is always suspect and his lack of cardio and chin is always a worry against anyone with finishing ability. He knows how to lose, but he has fought much higher standard of competition than Lins.
Lins is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu but has not submitted anyone in the UFC, but that said, he just needs to clip the chin of Cutelaba to set up a knockout or submission.
We can see Lins upsetting the odds by just waiting for Cutelaba to make a mistake, but we can also see the Moldovan steamrolling the Brazilian in the first round. This is hard to call but Lins is the smart pick.
Prediction: Cutelaba via KO/TKO
Value bet: Lins to win
