UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker Best Bets and Predictions
In the first event of 2024, UFC Fight Night is coming back to the APEX this weekend. The card will be headlined by a top-contender light heavyweight showdown between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker.
Ankalaev vs Walker Picks
- Pick: Ankalaev by KO -275.
Continue reading for the betting analysis and the Ankalaev vs Walker best bets ahead of placing any of your bets on this weekend’s MMA betting slate.
Ankalaev vs. Walker Information
Magomedov Ankalaev vs Johnny Walker
Location of the game: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Date & Time: January 13, 2024. 7 PM ET main card start
How to Watch: ESPN+
Last Fight Record
Ankalaev’s last official bout resulted in a DRAW against Jan Blochowicz in December of 2022 for the UFC title.
Walker’s last official bout resulted in a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Smith in May of 2023.
Ankalaev and Walker faced each other at UFC 294 in October; their fight resulted in a no-contest due to an illegal knee.
Ankalaev vs. Walker Betting Analysis
Magomed Ankalaev
Ankalaev is a Russian mixed martial artist with a professional record of 17-1-1, with 9 wins by TKO/KO. He’s an International Master of Sport in amateur MMA and Combat Sambo–you could consider him as arguably the best amateur MMA fighter of all time, winning three world championships and countless other gold medals.
Ankalaev is now a UFC #3 contender in the light heavyweight division, with the second-longest unbeaten streak in UFC division history (11). He is listed as a 6’3” orthodox fighter with a 75” reach. He averages 3.56 significant strikes landed per minute and only absorbed 2.20. His grappling skills get forgotten; as he averages 1.07 takedowns per 15 minutes and has an 86% takedown defense.
Johnny Walker
Walker is a Brazilian mixed martial artist with a professional MMA record of 21-7, including an impressive 16 TKO/KO victories and 3 submissions. He has four performances of the night in the UFC so far.
Walker is an orthodox fighter with incredible physical attributes like a height of 6’6” and an 82” reach. He averages 3.87 significant strikes landed per minute, along with 2.64 significant strikes absorbed per minute in the octagon. He has a 100% takedown accuracy and a 57% takedown defense.
Updates
No injuries have been reported to the UFC or ESPN.
Ankalaev vs. Walker Betting Preview
Before getting to the Ankalaev vs. Walker best bets, we need to preview the betting lines and understand how to properly make UFC bets. It starts with understanding the odds and then learning the styles of both UFC fighters who will be clashing in the octagon.
According to the available betting odds, Ankalaev is a big -550 betting favorite over the +400 Walker. The UFC odds heavily favor the bout to end inside the distance at -500, while the over/under is set at 1.5 rounds.
Stylistically, both of these guys have elite talent and skills. Ankalaev is the better all-around technical MMA fighter but Walker makes up for his weaknesses with his supreme athletic ability.
Ankalaev is a kickboxer at heart, but we know he has his Sambo skills in his back pocket when he needs them. Walker started to become a rising star years ago due to his wacky personality and crazy style in the cage. That reckless style ended up leading to a few devastating KOs and since then, he has worked hard to refine his approach to fights.
For example, in their first meeting a few months ago, Walker wasn’t doing too much on the feet but then he gets hit with a clean shot, pretends he’s hurt, and then explodes with a flying knee that missed the mark by inches.
Those explosive movements and dynamic techniques thrown by Walker will be what keeps him competitive in this fight, so he will need to be in great shape to be able to keep himself with a chance to land that fight-changing shot.
Ankalaev vs. Walker Betting Prediction
UFC picks for fights like this are what make the sport so fun to watch. These two are elite athletes and even though Ankalaev is a big favorite, Walker has plenty of opportunity to win this fight.
The Ankalaev vs. Walker best bet to make is taking Ankalaev to win inside the distance at -275. This isn’t a great bet if you’re expecting a big payout, but it’s pretty much the only option.
Walker has the ability to land something wild and end the fight, but Ankalaev is too good. Also, Ankalaev seems to be sick of the twists and turns his career has taken in the UFC, so you shouldn’t be surprised if this is the most vicious version of him that we’ve seen.
A KO win this weekend will make Ankalaev’s next UFC fight a title fight for sure.
- Pick: Ankalaev by KO -275.
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