UFC Fight Night 145 Odds & Predictions

UFC Fight Night 145 is set for February 23 in Prague, in the Czech Republic. This is UFC’s first foray into the Czech Republic, with the headliner coming between Jan Blachowicz, formerly, the KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, and Thiago Santos. The co-headliner is a heavyweight match between Stefan Struve and Marcos Rogerio de Lima. You can watch the main card on ESPN+ and the preliminary card on ESPN2. We have the full fight card for you as well as our UFC betting predictions on the two signature events.

UFC Fight Night 145 Odds & Predictions

Main Card (ESPN+)

• Jan Blachowicz vs Thiago Santos (Light heavyweight)
• Stefan Struve vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima (Heavyweight)
• Gian Villante vs Michal Oleksiejczuk (Light heavyweight)
• Liz Carmouche vs Lucie Pudilova (Women’s flyweight)
• John Dodson vs Petr Yan (Bantamweight)
• Magomed Ankalaev vs Klidson Abreu (Catchweight – 209 lbs)

Preliminary Card (ESPN2)

• Carlo Pedersoli Jr vs Dwight Grant (Welterweight)
• Daniel Teymur vs Chris Fishgold (Featherweight)
• Veronica Macedo vs Gillian Robertson (Women’s flyweight)
• Damir Hadzovic vs Polo Reyes (Lightweight)
• Michel Prazeres vs Ismail Naurdiev (Welterweight)
• Rustam Khabilov vs Carlos Diego Ferreira (Catchweight – 157 lbs)
• Damir Ismagulov vs Joel Alvarez (Lightweight)

Jan Blachowicz (23-7) vs Thiago Santos (20-6)

• UFC Fight Night 145 Odds: Blachowicz -110 / Santos -110

This fight will likely will provide the next challenger for the light heavyweight title. Santos had an up-and-down 2018, which had the highlight of winning over Anthony Smith via stoppage, when both were at middleweight. Smith decided to add weight and go up to the 205-pound division, and Santos followed. After a shocking loss to David Branch, Santos made the transition, and it took about three months for him to move into contender status. He has athleticism that is well above average, but his game is all about bringing big bombs. His last fight came against Jimi Manuwa, an aging veteran who simply was not able to match the pace and the punching power that Santos brings. Now that he is in the top tier of the division, the fights get tougher. Blachowicz delivered a series of impressive wins in KSW, and so when UFC added him in 2014, there was some excitement about his arrival. He knocked out Ilir Latifi in his UFC debut, adding to the aura around him in the promotion. However, after that he fell off the table, dropping four out of five, and he was about to fall out of UFC before he delivered a submission win over Devin Clark and then found a way to start winning. He beat Jared Cannonier on the cards and then delivered even more impressive wins over Manuwa and Nikita Krylov, showing much more stamina than he had during his cold streak. Santos will deliver a stiff challenge — unless Blachowicz can bring the fight to the ground in the early going. If the fight lasts, he has developed the stamina to win on the cards or even win with a late submission. However, Santos has improved his ground defense — and he should be able to bring the bombs to win. UFC Fight Night 145 Prediction: Santos wins via knockout

Stefan Struve (28-11) vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima (16-5-1)

• UFC Fight Night 145 Odds: Struve -105 / De Lima -115

This one features a fighter who may be on the way down in Struve, who made is promotional debut at UFC 95 and earned a ton of hype thanks to being seven feet tall. However, he’s never been able to keep opponents out at range. His long frame made him a tough grappler that led to some submissions. He beat Stipe Miocic in 2012, suggesting that things might be changing for the better, but that was the apex of his career to this point. Struve took a broken jaw against Mark Hunt, and then there was a break of almost two years thanks to the discovery of a heart condition and an anxiety attack. He did beat tomato cans like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Silva, but he was finished by Alexander Volkov. Now his tall frame just means he is a bigger target, and his takedown game has declined. He comes into this fight having taken three straight losses. Rogerio de Lima used to be a one-trick fighter at light heavyweight, and that trick involved trying to bring big bombs for two minutes and deliver a knockout. If that failed, he would run out of gas and lose via submission. However, he moved up to heavyweight in November and fought Adam Wieczorek. In this bout, he looked like a brand new fighter, trying to use wrestling — and winning on the cards. So it will be difficult to peg which approach he will use against Struve. The lack of durability that Struve brings should make him vulnerable to the striking game. I see Rogerio de Lima winning via stoppage. UFC Fight Night 145 Prediction: Rogerio de Lima wins via stoppage