MMA Preview – Philipe Lins vs Ion Cutelaba at UFC 299
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PHILIPE LINS VS ION CUTELABA FACTS
When is UFC 299? Sunday 10th March, 2024 - 01:00 (UK)
Where is UFC 299? Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 299? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 299
What channel is UFC 299 on? TNT Sports 2
Where can I stream UFC 299? TNT Sports subscribers can stream the fight online via the TNT Sports website and Discovery+
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!
PHILIPE LINS VS ION CUTELABA LOWDOWN
Philipe Lins (17-5) is unbeaten since dropping down to 205 lbs. After winning the 2018 Heavyweight PFL tournament, he continued his heavyweight quest, but quickly realized he was too small to hang with the big boys in the UFC. He lost a unanimous decision to Andrei Arlovski (2020) on debut and then got knocked out by Tanner Boser (2020) who also dropped down a division. Now, he has found his feet outpointing Marcin Prachnio (2022), knocking out Ovince Saint Preux (2023) and earning another unanimous decision over Maxim Grishin (2023).
Ion Cutelaba (17-9-1(1)) keeps pulling wins out the bag to preserve his UFC shelf life. After going without a win in two years, he managed to earn a unanimous decision over Devin Clark (2021). He then had a miserable 2022 getting submitted by Ryan Spann and Johnny Walker before eating Kennedy Nzechukwu’s knee. With his job on the ropes back at UFC on ESPN 44 in April, he managed to knock Boser out in the first round.
PHILIPE LINS VS ION CUTELABA PREDICTION
These two were scheduled to duke it out five months ago at UFC Fight Night 229 but the fight fell through on the day.
Lins will boast a three-inch reach advantage over Cutelaba although he will not hold the advantage when it comes to power and explosiveness.
If the Moldovan can put everything together, he can threaten anyone in the division. He possesses knockout power in his hands and is a very strong grappler hailing from a sambo and judo background.
However, his decision making is always suspect and his lack of cardio and chin is always a worry against anyone with finishing ability. He knows how to lose, but he has fought much higher standard of competition than Lins.
Lins is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu but has not submitted anyone in the UFC, but that said, he just needs to clip the chin of Cutelaba to set up a knockout or submission.
We can see Lins upsetting the odds by just waiting for Cutelaba to make a mistake, but we can also see the Moldovan steamrolling the Brazilian in the first round. This is hard to call but Lins is the smart pick.
Prediction: Cutelaba via KO/TKO
Value bet: Lins to win
