UFC on ESPN 27: Kyler Phillips vs. Raulian Paiva Picks and Predictions

Kyler Phillips and Raulian Paiva face off on Saturday in a bantamweight showdown in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. 

Kyler Phillips comes into this fight with a 9-1 record overall and since coming into the UFC he has won four fights in a row. Phillip's last fight came against Song Yadong in March of 2021 and he won by unanimous decision. Phillips had three takedowns in that last fight, and that was enough to come away with the victory. Phillips on the season is averaging 5.32 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.04 significant strikes per minute. Phillips likes to get the fight to the ground, and he is currently averaging 2.88 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 63 percent of his takedown attempts. Phillips is stipping 71 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts, and in this one it’s going to be important that he is the person controlling this fight. 

On the other side of this matchup is Raulian Paiva who comes into this fight with a 20-3 record overall and he has won two fights in a row. Paiva’s last fight was against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in July of 2020 and that was a fight by unanimous decision. Paiva was actually outstruck in that fight, by 14 significant strikes, but he still won that fight. Paiva is averaging 4.46 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.89 significant strikes per minute. Paiva is averaging 0.26 takedowns every 15 minutes, but he is only successful on 20 percent of his takedown attempts. Paiva does a good job, stopping 80 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts.