UFC On ESPN 9: ‘Woodley Vs Burns’ Predictions 

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back, as promised, with another mixed martial arts (MMA) fight card spread across both ESPN and ESPN+, which means you have no excuse to miss this Sat. night’s (May 30, 2020) big shebang … unless you have an actual life and don’t care what happens inside the partially-empty UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Where athletes will compete inside a smaller cage amid tighter restrictions.

265 lbs.: Blagoy Ivanov vs. Augusto Sakai

Blagoy “Baga” Ivanov

Record: 18-3, 1 NC | Age: 33 | Betting line: -105
Wins: 6 KO/TKO, 6 SUB, 6 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 5’11“ | Reach: 73” | Stance: Southpaw
Striking accuracy: 196 of 530 (37%) | Takedown attempts: 5 of 8 (63%)
Current Ranking: No. 12 | Last fight: Decision loss to Derrick Lewis

Augusto Sakai

Record: 14-1-1 | Age: 29 | Betting line: -115
Wins: 11 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 1 DEC
Height: 6’3“ | Reach: 77” | Stance: Orthodox
Striking accuracy: 184 of 386 (48%) | Takedown attempts: 1 of 2 (50%)
Current Ranking: No. 13 | Last fight: Knockout win over Marcin Tybura

I remember how excited I was when they announced this contest for the UFC on ESPN 9 co-main event. Just kidding. To be honest, I forgot they were even fighting until I sat down to write this preview and if you made it this far, god bless you fine sir (or madam). I know that sounds kind of dick-ish when you consider the record for both Blagoy Ivanov and Augusto Sakai, a combined 32-4, but “Baga” is 2-2 inside the Octagon and has yet to register a finish under the UFC banner. His Brazilian counterpart has performed much better though to be fair, he didn’t have the unenviable task of facing the likes of Junior dos Santos or Derrick Lewis, who are both ranked in the division’s Top 5. Instead, he got to knock around a bunch of unranked heavyweights, perhaps a reward for performing so admirably on Dana White’s Contender Series. Both combatants had impressive runs for Bellator MMA and probably would have faced off back in summer 2014, but alas, Ivanov departed for World Series of Fighting (WSOF) just two months before Sakai made his promotion debut.

Sakai comes into this bout boasting considerable advantages in both height and reach. He’s also registered 11 knockouts in 14 wins. I just can’t see him finishing a brute as durable as Ivanov and I try not to bet against guys who get stabbed in the heart and walk it off. The question for this contest is whether or not “Baga” is going to be content to counterstrike or if he’ll actually use some of his world-class Sambo, good enough to dethrone Fedor Emelianenko back in 2008. This is only a three-round fight so if Sakai — who also hasn’t been finished in his MMA career — is busier on the feet and uses his length, he could follow the path of “Cigano” and box his way to victory. Ivanov might land more significant strikes but his counterstriking approach does not leave him active enough to sway the judges, which is why some of that grappling would come in handy, even if it’s just to neutralize his opponent’s output. This is a really tough call, which is why the betting line is so close, but I’m leaning toward the younger, more aggressive fighter to take a very close decision.

Prediction: Sakai def. Ivanov by split decision

Remember, the rest of the UFC on ESPN 9 main card predictions are RIGHT HERE.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 9 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 9 p.m. ET.

For the rest of the UFC on ESPN 9 fight card and line up click here.