MMA Preview – Damir Hadzovic vs Christos Giagos at UFC Fight Night 153
AT A GLANCE
When is UFC Fight Night 153? Saturday 1st June, 2019 - 16:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 153? Ericsson Globe, Stockholm, Sweden
What channel is UFC Fight Night 153 on? BT Sport 3
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 153? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live and you can take advantage of a free trial with ESPN+ and subscribe now by clicking here!
Are tickets still available for UFC Fight Night 153? http://uk.ufc.com/event-ticket-info?utm_source=ufc&utm_medium=tab&utm_campaign=tickets
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
Christos ‘The Spartan’ Giagos continues his habit of fighting on foreign soil and heads to Sweden for his next fight but Damir ‘The Bosnian Bomber’ Hadzovic is out to send the American home with a loss.
Hadzovic had a tough start to his UFC career and was handed Mairbek Taisumov for his debut. He truly tasted the step-up in competition along with the Russian’s right hand but four fights and three wins later, Hadzovic is on a two-fight winning streak with wins over Nick Hein and Marco Polo Reyes but knows he will need another top performance to get past Giagos.
The UFC were even more unkind for Giagos’ debut by matching him up with the experienced Charles Oliveira. This inevitably ended in a submission loss but the Californian bounced back with a unanimous decision over Mizuto Hirota in his last outing in Adelaide.
THE PREDICTION
Giagos is no Gerard Butler but he is a very talented Mixed Martial Artist and like Hadzovic, he is incredibly well-rounded. They are both great grapplers with dangerous submission games and as well as being powerful and explosive strikers.
So, we can expect a bit of everything in this fight. They both mix striking with takedowns brilliantly and their timing will be crucial to controlling the fight. Giagos has devastating knees that he will be prepared to unleash when Hadzovic shoots in but the Bosnian will also be waiting to offload bombs in the exchanges, knowing Giagos is prone to being reckless when hunting a knockout.
It is this recklessness that may change the course of the fight. If he doesn’t find a knockout, he may tire in the latter stages which will leave the door open for Hadzovic to squeeze out a hard-fought decision.
Winner: Hadzovich via Decision
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.
