MMA Preview – Brendan Allen vs Chris Curtis at UFC on ESPN 31
BRENDAN ALLEN VS CHRIS CURTIS FACTS
When is UFC on ESPN 31? Sunday 5th December, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC on ESPN 31? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC on ESPN 31? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC on ESPN 31 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC on ESPN 31? 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 on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
BRENDAN ALLEN VS CHRIS CURTIS LOWDOWN
Thankfully Brendan Allen (17-4) remains on the card after Brad Tavares and Roman Dolidze pulled out. Allen has been in some tough fights, but he has only lost once in his last 10. He made his UFC debut in 2019 after making a defence of his Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight title and submitting Aaron Jeffrey (2019) on the Contender Series. He then added top talents Kevin Holland (2019), Tom Breese (2020) and Kyle Daukaus (2020) to the win column before meeting Sean Strickland (2020). He got TKO’d in the second round but bounced back with a submission over Karl Roberson (2021) and a unanimous decision over Punahele Soriano (2021) handing him the first loss of his career.
Chris Curtis (27-8) volunteers to step up again. He accepted a short notice fight against Phil Hawes back at UFC Fight Night 194 although it got rescheduled for UFC 268. Hawes claimed it would be a good test to allow Curtis extra time to prepare and study some tape. It was a great idea as Curtis smoked him in the first round to pull off a huge upset win. He is now on a six-fight win streak including five knockouts to put that three-fight skid under the Professional Fighters League in 2019 thoroughly behind him.
BRENDAN ALLEN VS CHRIS CURTIS PREDICTION
Curtis is unsurprisingly the underdog again especially fighting up a middleweight. Allen is the bigger man but will not have a reach advantage. He has the experience and skills to beat Curtis in a number of ways however, as we have seen, Curtis only needs to land once to pull off the upset.
Allen’s striking defence is one of his only weaknesses so there is certainly a window of opportunity for Curtis to land the knockout blow. The odds will not be as favourable for Curtis as his last fight, but a knockout is still worth a shout. That said, Allen is better everywhere, and we expect his grappling to earn him a decision or submission.
Prediction: Allen via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
Value Bet: Curtis via KO/TKO
