UFC 260: Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida Picks and Predictions

Sean O’Malley and Thomas Almeida face off on Saturday in a main card showdown at UFC 260 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Sugar Sean O’Malley is one of the more exciting fighters in the UFC, and overall he has a 12-1 record. The biggest issue for O’Malley though, is that one loss came in his last fight against Marlon Vera. In that last fight, O’Malley didn’t look great and late in the first round he was finished with elbows. O’Malley is averaging 6.35 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.76 significant strikes per minute. O’Malley is averaging 1.05 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 50 percent of his takedown attempts. O’Malley also stops 61 percent of his opponents takedown attempts. O’Malley will try to lock in submission attempts and he is averaging 1.1 attempts of those every 15 minutes. 

On the other side of this matchup is Thomas Almeida who sits with a 22-4 record overall but he has lost three fights in a row. Almeida’s last fight was against Jonathan Martinez in October of 2020 and he lost that fight by unanimous decision. Almeida is averaging 5.39 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.69 significant strikes per minute. Almeida wants to keep the fight on the feet and he is averaging 0.0 takedowns every 15 minutes. Almeida also stops 75 percent of his opponents takedown attempts and in this one that could come in handy. Almeida does have knockout power and each of the last four wins have been by knockout.