Ufc Fight Night 118 Predictions
As we enter the home stretch of 2017, the UFC is bringing us a ton of great fights to close out the year. From now till the end of the year, the UFC will be holding an event every weekend minus Christmas weekend. That is eleven straight weeks of action with two events during the first weekend of December.
UFC Fight Night 118 - Cerrone vs. Till pits Darren The Gorilla Till vs Donald Cowboy Cerrone fight in Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland on Oct 21, 2017. Oct 21, 2017 Fight Predictions Tapology members can make predictions for upcoming MMA & Boxing fights. UFC Fight Night 118 is closed for new predictions. 1,069 total members made predictions on this event, breaking down as follows below. Leaderboard of the best predictions by member: UFC Fight Night 118 Leaderboard.
A few weeks ago I wrote a column about ten fights you cannot miss to close out 2017. This weekend we get one of those fights in our main event of UFC Fight Night 118 from Gdansk, Poland as Donald Cerrone takes on undefeated Darren Till in welterweight showdown that has fight of the night written all over it. This card may not be stacked with house hold names but it is full of young fighters looking to prove themselves which can always lead to a great night of fights.
Main Card
Oct 20, 2017 UFC Fight Night 117 takes place at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. Darren Till puts his undefeated record on the line when he steps into the cage against UFC veteran and fan favorite, Donald.
Oct 17, 2017 UFC Fight Night 118 Betting Tips, Picks and Predictions Allsopp October 17, 2017 5:57 pm October 22, 2017 0 Comments First of all, I would like to start by apologizing to you for the website being in a chaotic state right now. Oct 20, 2017 UFC Fight Night 118 predictions, preview, and analysis for the Donald Cerrone vs. Darren Till-led mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Sat., Oct. 21, 2017, inside Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, on UFC.
Darren Till (15-0-1) vs. Donald Cerrone (32-9, 1 NC) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
This fight has the potential to be one of the best all year and potential fireworks no matter if it goes the distance or just one round. Donald Cerrone is one of the most durable and battle tested fighters in all of MMA and will be a big step up in competition for Darren Till.
The England native Till is only 24 years old but already has an impressive resume with a 15-0 record with 9 KO/TKO. Till is a very aggressive fighter with a strong Muay Thai background.
Cerrone is coming off back to back losses for the first time in a long career. Cerrone will want to keep his distance, throw leg kicks, wait for Till to make mistakes and then execute a take down. I think Till will take advantage of Cerrone being a slow starter and finish the fight in a huge upset.
The Pick: Darren Till by 1st round TKO
Jodie Esquibel (6-2) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-2) – Strawweight 115 lbs.
Coming off back to back losses the Poland native, Karolina Kowalkiewicz is looking to get back on track when she faces UFC newcomer Jodie Esquibel. Kowalkiewicz is one of the top handful of fighters in the women’s strawweight division and was able to be very competitive in a loss against current strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Esquibel is going to have a tough hill to climb in this fight. She has spent most of her career at the 105 lbs. weight class and is only 1-1 at strawweight. Kowalkiewicz is not the type of fighter you want to fight in your UFC debut, but an upset win would be huge for Esquibel’s career.
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Kowalkiewicz will have the height, reach and size advantage that I just do not think Esquibel will be able to overcome. She just has not faced someone as well rounded as Kowalkiewicz and will need to pull of a flash KO or submission to come out on top in this one.
The Pick: Karolina Kowalkiewicz 2nd round TKO
Jan Blachowicz (19-7) vs. Devin Clark (8-1) – Light Heavyweight 205 lbs.
This light heavyweight match up could turn into an all out brawl. The Poland native Jan Blachowicsz will most likely try to put on a show for his home country and Devin Clark will be looking to make a name for himself. Blachowicz was regarded by many to be one of the next great prospects in the 205 lb. division when he entered the UFC in 2014, but he has not lived up to that potential. After losing four out of his last five, Blachowicsz could really use a win.
Clark is starting to make a name for himself winning his first two fights at 205 lbs. after moving up from the 185 lb. middleweight division. Clark is a former junior college national champion wrestler at Rochester Tech and has great condition and is not afraid to throw hands with anyone. He may want to avoid that against Blachowicsz who will come out very aggressively looking for an early knockout.
Clark will look to keep moving and pick his spots in order to wear down Blachowicsz. I really think the deciding factors in this fight is the cardio and take down defense of Blachowicsz . If he has improved in those areas then this should be his fight to lose. If not, Clark should be able to impose his will in the later rounds. This is a statement fight for both guys who can really move up in a thin 205 lb. division quickly with a few wins.
The Pick: Devin Clark by unanimous decision
Oskar Piechota (9-0) vs. Jonathan Wilson (7-2) – Middleweight 185 lbs.
Poland will get to see the UFC debut of one of their own as Polish grappling champion Oskar Piechota takes on Jonathan Wilson in a middleweight clash. Piechota enters the octagon undefeated with a 9-0-1 record .
Wilson will be making his debut at middleweight dropping down from light-heavyweight after back to back losses. Wilson still has an impressive 7-2 record in his career and will be looking to use his height and reach advantage in this fight. Wilson has great raw power with six of his seven wins coming by KO/TKO. He will look to use the old Chuck Liddell style of sprawl and brawl to avoid the take down and then land heavy shots.
Piechota’s strategy will be pretty clear. Get the takedowna and dominant position. The veteran of Abu Dhabi Combat Club is one of the best grappling prospects at any weight class. Piechota has shown that his striking is improving with two straight knockout wins, but Wilson is not the fighter he wants to get into a slugfest with.
The Pick: Oskar Piechota by unanimous decision
NOWCHECK OUT THE THIS ARTICLE: UFC FIGHT NIGHT 118 PRIMER: Culver’s preview & predictions for the Donald Cerrone vs. Darren Till headlined main card
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Jodie Esquibel
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-2) has plenty at stake going into UFC Fight Night 118. She’s on a two-fight skid, albeit against two of the best women’s strawweights that the UFC has to offer. Kowalkiewicz did manage to hang in there for five rounds with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, which is a feat in itself but would ultimately lose to the champion. Not long after, at UFC 212, Kowalkiewicz was submitted early in the first round by Claudia Gadelha.
Jodie Esquibel (6-2) will be making her UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 118 in Kowalkiewicz’s home country, Poland. Esquibel has managed a 3-1 record in her last four fights with her one lone loss coming at the hands of current UFC fighter, Alexa Grasso. Esquibel featured on The Ultimate Fighter 24 and lost a somewhat controversial decision before being eliminated.
Breakdown
Jodie Esquibel fights like a truck with no brakes. She keeps coming forward through everything that her opponent has to offer. If Kowalkiewicz is hoping to keep Esquibel at bay with teep kicks and long strikes, she’ll need to be prepared for Esquibel to keep eating them and coming forward. She also is built like a mini-truck and is definitely short and stock for the strawweight division.
Prediction and Betting Guide
Kowalkiewicz’s striking should be too much for Esquibel and she’s way too classy for the UFC newcomer.
Prediction: Karolina Kowalkiewicz by decision
The safest play here is, of course, betting on Karolina Kowalkiewicz. But the odds here are outrageous. Esquibel is quite ‘raw’, but she knows how to bring the fight and she is definitely capable of causing some trouble for Karolina. We’ll bet against our prediction here because the odds are just that good.
You can find the best odds for a Jodie Esquibel victory at 888Bet
Jan Blachowicz vs. Devin Clark
Jan Blachowicz, believe it or not, was a guy with 14 wins in a 15-fight period not that long ago. Now, though, he’s lost four of his last five and is struggling to get things going inside the octagon. With losses to Patrick Cummins, Alexander Gustafsson, Corey Anderson and Jimi Manuwa, Blachowicz is clearly still competing against real contenders in the division. A fight with Devin Clark will be his easiest spot to date, and probably a must-win considering his recent decline.
Ufc Fight Night 118 Predictions Bleacher Report
Devin Clark is on quite the opposite trajectory than that of Jan Blachowicz. After losing his UFC debut against Alex Nicholson, Clark has since moved up weight classes and won his next two bouts. Clark worked his way to unanimous decision wins against Jake Collier and Josh Stansbury and a win over Blachowicz will make it three in a row for Clark
Breakdown
It’s been difficult to get a read on Jan Blachowicz lately. He looked quite good against Alexander Gustafsson, in a bout that no one gave him a chance. Blachowicz managed to tag ‘Gus’ a few times in the first round before falling away as the fight progressed. He did the same against Patrick Cummins, too. Jan beat up Cummins for the entirety of round one before nearly stopping him, but it would be Cummins who came away victorious after winning rounds two and three.
Ufc Fight Night 118 Predictions Bleacher Report
If there’s one thing that Blachowicz has been struggling with, it’s getting back to his feet when he needs to. Unfortunately for Blachowicz, Devin Clark is excellent at timing takedowns and maintaining heavy top pressure. Clark also has the type of pressure and forward momentum that can make a guy like Blachowicz run out of gas quickly.
Prediction and Betting Guide
This one seems terribly obvious. Sadly, that’s when we’re probably more likely to be wrong… Clark may lose the first round but he’ll completely overwhelm Blachowicz in round two and three.
Prediction: Devin Clark by decision
Betting on this one is quite straightforward, too. Devin Clark is a moderate favorite and definitely still has plenty of value to his name.
You can find the best odds for a Devin Clark victory at Bet365
Oskar Piechota vs. Jonathan Wilson
Oskar Piechota is one of the most recent Polish fighters to join the UFC. Through ten fights, Piechota has nine wins to his name and one draw. What’s most impressive about Piechota, though, is that he has finished each of his nine victories so far in his career. He’s got that freakish kind of Volkan Oezdemir ower that just knocks people out at first touch.
UFC Fight Night 118 will mark Jonathan Wilson’s drop down to the middleweight division after having previously competed at light heavyweight for years. Wilson suffered losses to Luis Henrique da Silva and Ion Cutelaba in his last two fights, which has blemished his perfect 7-0 start to his career.
Breakdown
We rarely get to see much of Oskar Piechota in one outing, so it’s kind of like putting together a puzzle with many pieces. His most recent fight against Jason Radcliffe featured a scarily sharp counter left hook that knocked out the Cage Warriors champion. One thing, though, is that Piechota is extremely dangerous on the mat and we can’t look too much into his power on the feet.
Yes, he caught Radcliffe and he might be able to find a home for his hands in the same way Oezdemir keeps doing, but opponents will be most threatened by his submission game. There’s not really anywhere safe when you’re in the cage with Piechota, is where we’re getting at here.
If I was to describe Jonathan Wilson in just one word, it would be ‘hesitant’. He never seems to stamp authority on a fight and against Ion Cutelaba he was happy sitting back and waiting for the majority of the contest. The strange thing is, though, when Wilson wants to, he can land extremely damaging combinations. In particular, his mixture of punches and kicks in combination are both unpredictable and painful.
Prediction and Betting Guide
Wilson may be able to string some combinations together and beat up Piechota on the feet, but it’s difficult to measure what kind of Jonathan Wilson we will see at UFC Fight Night 118 after an extended layoff. I’ll take Piechota to win.
Prediction: Oskar Piechota by KO/TKO
Oskar Piechota is a moderate favorite and there’s not a lot of value betting on him, admittedly. The best play here is backing a finish in the first two rounds with total rounds – under 1.5
You can find the best odds for Under 1.5 Rounds at Bet365
Best Bets
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Jodie Esquibel
Jodie Esquibel to Win
Saturday, 21st October – 4:00 pm (ET) / 08:00pm (GMT)
Odds: 4.50 – 888Bet
Jan Blachowicz vs. Devin Clark
Devin Clark to Win
Saturday, 21st October – 3:30 pm (ET) / 07:30pm (GMT)
Odds: 1.66 – Bet365
Oskar Piechota vs. Jonathan Wilson
Under 1.5 Rounds
Saturday, 21st October – 3:00 pm (ET) / 07:00pm (GMT)
Odds: 2.00 – Bet365