Breakdown UFC: 253

 Breakdown UFC: 253

Adesanya v Costa: 185lb Title:

Adesanya(-160), MMA Record: 19-0, UFC Record: 8-0, Current Streak: Nineteen Wins: Israel is a real life video game character. If you were able to create a fighter, it would look very similar to Izzy. A tall, long, elite striker with great takedown defense. There isn't a lot to be said about him that already has not been said. The stats also point to the fact that he is a very special fighter. He has the third most title wins and the third longest win streak in the UFC Middleweight history. He is also tied for third in total knockdowns with 10. His defense however, is the best part of his game. In a sport where the name of the game is to hit without getting hit, Izzy has all but mastered this art. He is fifth all time at 185lbs in significant striking defense with 65.5% of strikes missing him. Some people also like to think he is a one trick pony that is only good on the feet but is not the case. He has the second best takedown defense in UFC Middleweight history with 86.5% so good luck taking him down and keeping him down. His fight IQ might be one of the highest we have ever seen. He rarely ever makes mistakes that his opponents can capitalize on and that makes them irritated and then they end up making a mistake that Izzy can use to his advantage. It looks like this will be Izzys' division for awhile until someone rips the title right out of his hands. 

*IMPORTANT STATS: 86% Takedown Defense, 65% Striking Defense, 48% Striking Accuracy, 2.4  Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Romero(UD), Whittaker(KO), Gastelum(UD), A. Silva(UD), Brunson(TKO), Tavares(UD), Vettori(SD), Guillard(TKO)

Costa(+135), MMA Record: 13-0, UFC Record: 5-0, Current Streak: Thirteen Wins: Costa is also someone that you would think was plucked right from the UFC 4 video game. An easy nominee for the best body in MMA, he is much more than a physical specimen. The only direction he know how to go is forward and with a onslaught of hooks to the head and body of his opponents. It isn't necessarily one punch that puts them out but a string of three to four heavy strikes that put them down. He has the highest strikes landed per minute average ever at 185lbs with 8.43 strikes landed. The second highest is 5.35 strikes per minute which shows you how much of an outlier he is. He also has the third highest significant strike accuracy in the division at 57.8%. He will have a big strength advantage too. He has only spent 2.25% of is total fight time in bottom position, so good luck trying to get this fight to the ground at any point. My biggest question about Costa is his gas tank. He has never been five rounds and has only been three rounds once in his last fight where he did slow down a little bit. If you watched him on the Ultimate Fighter Brazil, you saw him lose because he gassed big time in a fight. He will looking to take the title back home to Brazil where it called home for so long under Anderson Silva.

IMPORTANT STATS: 80% Takedown Defense, 8.43 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 57% Striking Accuracy, 6.84 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Romero(UD), Hall(TKO), Hendricks(TKO), Bamgbose(KO), McLellan(TKO)

Reyes v Blachowicz: 205lb Title:

Reyes(-260), MMA Record: 12-1, UFC Record: 6-1, Current Streak: One Lose: Reyes will get another shot at the 205lb title after his close fight with Jon Jones. I thought he won that fight so I have zero problem with him getting another chance. Dom is a big strong fighter with power in each hand. If getting him to the ground is your game plan, you might want to have a plan B ready. He has only spent 1.62% of total fight time on the ground. He also has the fifth highest takedown defense in the UFC Light Heavyweight division at 82.4%. I would look for him to push the pace in this fight and try to drag Jan into deep waters and drown him with strikes. If he wins on Saturday, this might be Reyes' division for the foreseeable future.

IMPORTANT STATS: 4.88 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 82% Takedown Defense, 49% Striking Accuracy, 48% Striking Defense

NOTABLE WINS: Weidman(TKO), Oezdemir(SD), OSP(UD), Cannonier(TKO)

Blachowicz(+205), MMA Record: 26-8, UFC Record: 9-5, Current Streak: Three Wins: Jan is a great example of never giving up even when the future looks out of reach. There was a point in his UFC career when had lost four of his last five fights and was on the verge of getting cut from the promotion. Since then, he has gotten his shit together and won seven of his last eight fights. He is known for his "Polish Power" but he actually has more submission wins than knockout wins. I would look for Jan to get this fight to ground if he finds himself having trouble on the feet with Dom. He has the second highest takedown accuracy in 205lb history at 52%. He will also have a huge experience advantage in this fight as well. Jan will looking to the second Polish UFC champion and first male. He hopes to spoil the party on Yas Island for his opponent. 

IMPORTANT STATS: 52% Takedown Accuracy, 1.16 Takedown per 15 Minutes, 48% Striking Accuracy, 54% Striking Defense

NOTABLE WINS: Anderson(KO), Souza(SD), Rockhold(KO), Krylov(SUB), Manuwa(UD), Cannonier(UD), Clack(SUB), Latifi(TKO)

Dawodu v Tukhugov: 145lbs

Dawodu(-110), MMA Record: 11-1-1, UFC Record: 4-1, Current Streak: Four Wins: The first fight on the PPV is going to be a wild one. The fact that the betting odds are a pick' em should tell you how good this fight will be. Hakeem is a very good striker from Canada with seven knockouts to his name. He has a 72 inch reach, which is pretty long for a featherweight. Taking him down is not easy either. He has an 85% takedown defense record. Look for Hakeem to keep this fight standing as long as possible and find an opportunity to take his opponents head off.

IMPORTANT STATS: 85% Takedown Defense, 5.28 Sig, Strikes Landed per Minute, 46% Striking Accuracy, 64% Striking Defense

NOTABLE WINS: Acre(SD), Horie(KO), Bochniak(SD), Magomedov(TKO)

Tukhugov(-110), MMA Record:19-4-1, UFC Record: 4-1-1, Current Streak: One Win: When you are a training partner of Khabib, you almost have to have good grappling. Zubaira is one if the many fighters from Russia that are apart of this Dagestan invasion that has been taking place over the last couple of years. He has a high pace and a high volume of strikes that he throws. He does have a little bit of KO power that you can't sleep on just because he is a wrestler from Russia. I would look for Zubaira to get a takedown early in the first round to set the tone and then do that for most of the fight. A win here should put him near the top 15 rankings at 145lbs. 

IMPORTANT STATS: 56% Takedown Accuracy, 38% Striking Accuracy, 68% Striking Defense, 2.88 Takedown per 15 Minutes

NOTABLE WINS: Aguilar(TKO), Nover(SD), Chavez(TKO), Andrade(UD)

*All stats are from http://ufcstats.com/event-details/e69c5ce12f4e762b.

Countdown On UFC: 253