Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeria face off on Saturday for the light heavyweight title at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Blachowicz is currently the champion while Teixeria is the number one title contender.
Jan Blachowicz overall sits with a 28-8 record and he has won five fights in a row. Each of the last two wins have been for the belt, including the last victory over Israel Adesanya. In that fight he had three takedowns, Blachowicz is averaging 3.59 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.79 significant strikes per minute. He likes to get the fight to the ground averaging 1.18 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 53 percent of his takedown attempts. He also stops 65 percent of his opponents takedown attempts. Two of Blachowicz last three fights he has finished them by knockout, and there is no doubt he is going to search for that early in this fight.
On the other side of this fight is Glover Teixeria who sits with a 32-7 record overall and he has won five fights in a row. His last fight came in March of 2020 against Thiago Santos and it was midway through the third round that he locked in a submission attempt and came away with the victory. Teixeira is averaging 3.75 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.84 significant strikes per minute. Teixeria also likes to get the fight to the ground, averaging 2.04 takedowns every 15 minutes. He is successful on 40 percent of his attempts and stops 60 percent of his opponents attempts. Three of his last five wins have been by submission, and usually, when he tries one, he keeps it locked and finishes the job.
This fight to me feels like a toss up, so the odds being the way they are is quite the gift. Teixeria is going to put Blachowicz in a bad spot. It might not be the prettiest fight, but Teixeria is going to get the job done. Back Teixeria on the money line.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
