UFC Vegas 30: Raoni Barcelos vs. Timur Valiev Picks and Predictions

Raoni Barcelos and Timur Valiev face off on Saturday in a bantamweight showdown in a main card showdown at UFC Vegas 30 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Raoni Barcelos comes into this fight with a 16-1 record overall and since coming into the UFC he has won five fights in a row. Barcelos last came against Khalid Taha in November of 2020 and that was a fight he won by unanimous decision. Barcelos outstruck his opponent 120-49 and he also had two takedowns in the fight. Barcelos is averaging 5.59 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.17 significant strikes per minute. Barcelos is averaging 2.23 takedowns every 15 minutes, and he is successful on 56 percent of his takedown attempts. Barcelos is also stopping 85 percent of his opponent’s takedown attempts. The first three wins in the UFC were by finish, but each of the last two were by unanimous decision. 

On the other side of this fight is Timur Valiev who sits with a 17-2 record overall and since coming into the UFC he has a 1-1 record. Valiev’s last fight came against Martin Day in February of 2021, and it was Valiev who was able to win the fight by unanimous decision. Valiev is averaging 5.50 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 1.55 significant strikes per minute. Valiev is averaging 2.73 takedowns every 15 minutes, and he is successful on 66 percent of the takedown attempts. He also stops 50 percent of the takedown attempts. In this fight, Valiev is going to want to get the fight to the ground, but once he gets there he needs to keep control of it.