Breakdown: UFC: 254

 Breakdown: UFC: 254

Nurmagedov vs Gaethje: 155lb Title

Nurmagedov(-345), MMA Record: 28-0, UFC Record: 12-0, Current Streak: 28 Wins: 28-0 says a lot about what Khabib is capable of. He has some of the best grappling ever seen in MMA. His ground and pound is legendary. His striking has come a long way and has gotten to place where I don't really worry about him on the feet as much as I did early in his career. The eleven fight win streak he is on is second only to Tony Ferguson's twelve in the Lightweight division. He is also second at 155 in control time percentage with 56.3%. He has spend over an hour of total fight time in top position and only one minute and forty six seconds in bottom position. The last stat I will bring up is that is also second in total takedowns at 155 with 57 of them. This might be Khabib's last fight at 155. His father passing is a huge factor on his future. His fathers dreams were for him to go 30-0 and fight GSP. If he wins this weekend, I will fully expect him to follow his fathers wishes. Grades: Striking=9/10, Grappling=10/10

*IMPORTANT STATS: 1.65 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute, 47% Takedown Accuracy, 5.35 Takedown Landed per 15 Minutes, 4.11 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Poirier(SUB), McGregor(SUB), Iaquinta(UD), Barboza(UD), M. Johnson(SUB), dos Anjos(UD), Trujillo(UD), Tibau(UD)

Gaethje(+270), MMA Record: 22-2, UFC Record: 5-2, Current Streak: Four Wins: Justin is without a doubt the toughest test Khabib has ever faced. He has knockout power in both hands and his leg kicks will leave you limping for weeks. He has one of the best coaches in all of MMA in Trevor Wittman. He best attribute is his physical and mental toughness. You have to put him away if you want to beat him. His takedown defense will be put to the test. He was an All-American at Northern Colorado in wrestling so one would have to think that is good but is it good enough to stop Khabib is the question. He has the highest significant strikes accuracy at 155 with 59.2% landing. He also has the highest strikes landed per minute with 7.74. If Justin can get Khabib off his game and make him see his own blood, I think Justin could do what no man has ever done. Grades: Striking=9.5/10, Grappling=9/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 7.74 Sig Strikes Landed per Minute, 80% Takdown Defense, 59% Srtiking Accuracy, 8.37 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Ferguson(TKO), Cerrone(TKO), Barboza(KO), Vick(KO), M. Johnson(TKO), Firmino(TKO), Palomino(TKO)2X, Guillard(SD), Fickett(KO)

Whittaker vs Cannonier: 185lbs 

Whittaker(-110), MMA Record: 21-5, UFC Record: 12-3, Current Streak: One Win: Whittaker goes for another big win this weekend as he tries to get a rematch with the champ at 185lbs. Whittaker was one of the original fighter in the UFC to move up in weight to cut out the taxing nature of weight cutting. This has benefited him tenfold. His striking his super elite. His takedown defense is super underrated with Yoel Romero not even being able to take him down with consistency. The X factor for this fight is how will he handle his opponents leg kicks. Robert puts a lot of weight on his front foot and if Cannonier starts chopping at it, it's going to be a long day for him. A win here would secure him a rematch with his Oceania rival, Adesanya. Grades: Striking=9.25/10, Grappling=8.5/10 

IMPORTANT STATS: 61% Striking Defense, 40% Striking Accuracy, 4.51 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 3.43 Sig Strikes Absorbed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Till(UD), Romero(SD,UD), Souza(TKO), Brunson(TKO), Hall(UD), Tavares(KO)

Cannonier(-120), MMA Record: 13-4, UFC Record: 6-4, Current Streak: Three Wins: Looking at Cannonier now, it would be hard to believe that he use to fight at heavyweight. Since dropping down to middleweight, he has looked like a world beater. He still carries that power from his heavyweight days but he is much quicker and cleaner as an overall striker. His leg kicks are devastating. His opponents can only eat a couple before they start to slow down significantly. He has a 77.5 inch reach which for only being 5'11, is a big advantage with Whittaker only having a 73.5 inch reach. This is easily the biggest fight of his career and win here would sure up a title shot for him. Grades: Striking=9.1/10, Grappling=8.25/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 66% Striking Defense, 51% Striking Accuracy, 3.72 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 2.82 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Hermansson(TKO), A. Silva(TKO), D. Branch(TKO), Cutelaba(UD)

Cutelaba vs Ankalaev: 205lbs

Ankalaev(-315), MMA Record: 13-1, UFC Record: 4-1, Current Streak: Four Wins: Magomed looks like he could be the next big thing to come out of Russia. A very well rounded fighter with no huge holes in his game to exploit, he is a tough puzzle to solve. The last fight ended weird with Cutelaba pretending to be hurt to bait Magomed in and doing such a good job of it, that the ref thought he was actually hurt and stopped the fight.I'm glad they are running this one back so we can get closure on this match up. Grades: Striking=8.75/10, Grappling=8.5/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 3.46 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 56% Striking Accuracy, 1.24 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute, 67% Striking Defense

NOTABLE WINS: Cutelaba(KO), Lungiambula(KO), Abreu(UD), Prachnio(TKO)

Cutelaba(+255), MMA Record: 15-5, UFC Record: 4-4, Current Streak: One Loss: "The Hulk" is one of the most underrated fighters at 205lbs. In his eight UFC fights he has faced a ton of high level fighters and still only being 26 years old, Ion has not even hit his prime yet. His striking looks better and better with ever fight. The odds are not kind to him on this particular fight but I think this fight is much closer than the odds would suggest. Grades: Striking= 8.5/10, Grappling=8.75/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 80% Takedown Defense, 71% Takedown Accuracy, 2.59 Takedowns per 15 Minutes, 5.29 Sig, Strikes Landed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Rountree(TKO), Antigulov(TKO), da Silva(KO)

Under The Radar Fights: Tuivase(-120) vs Struve(-110), A. Oliveira(-115) vs Rakhmonov(-115), Jung(-330) vs Alvey(+255), Kenny(-180) vs Wood(+150)

* All Stats are from http://ufcstats.com/event-details/c3c38c86f5ab9b5c