Allen Vs. Chikadze Betting Odds, Prediction | UFC Betting Sites

UFC 297: Allen v Evloev — Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight strikers Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze will go to war this weekend (Sat., July 27, 2024) at UFC 304 inside Co-Op Live in Manchester, England.

Allen went undefeated for seven years and 10 fights to start his UFC career, ascending into the top of the title mix. Unfortunately, he’s since lost two competitive decisions to the absolute cream of the crop, putting the English talent in something of a must-win position if he’s to remain in the title mix. Chikadze can likely relate, as he also started his UFC career strong with a seven-fight win streak. Calvin Kattar ended that momentum with a brutal beatdown, but the kickboxer has at least rebounded already with a solid victory over the veteran, Alex Caceres.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Allen Vs. Chikaedze Betting Odds

Arnold Allen victory: -250
Arnold Allen via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
Arnold Allen via submission: TBD
Arnold Allen via decision: TBD
Giga Chikadze victory: +205
Giga Chikadze via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
Giga Chikadze via submission: TBD
Giga Chikadze via decision: TBD
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

How Allen Wins

Allen is one of the slickest men at 145 pounds. He’s a rangy Southpaw with excellent takedown defense and a punishing jab, and when he does turn up the pressure and volume, he’s certainly capable of producing finishes.

This is a slightly tricky stylistic match up for Allen. Typically, we’ve seen a lot of the English talent shucking off takedowns, denying attempts to close range, and picking his opponents off from the outside. Against a former professional kickboxer in Chikadze, this bout will likely have the opposite dynamic, as he’ll want to make it a little ugly and get his hands on the Georgian.

Fortunately, Calvin Kattar did nicely demonstrate a blueprint for good MMA fighters to beat up Chikadze even without taking him down, which isn’t a go-to Allen strategy. If “Almighty” takes a few pages from his book by pressuring, countering kicks, and extending combinations into clinch work, he can likely replicate Kattar’s success and keep Chikadze on the defense.

How Chikadze Wins

Chikadze was already a nasty kickboxer when he crossed into the Octagon, but he built up his takedown defense quickly to earn a position in the rankings. He throws in combination and has one of the meanest left kicks in the business, two factors that have helped him rack up nine wins via knockout.

All told, this is a solid opportunity for Chikadze, who gets to go toe-to-toe with a striker ranked above him. It really becomes a question of distance and defense. He’s not great in the pocket, so Chikadze has to keep his feet moving and make sure Allen is walking through fire before Allen gets to his preferred boxing range.

An interesting wrinkle to this match is that both are primarily Southpaw. That means Chikadze’s famous liver kick will be a bit less available, but he’ll also be able to more easily target the calf. Often, Southpaws are not accustomed to have their lead leg chopped, so perhaps an extra focus on the calf kick could slow Allen and allow Chikadze the freedom to fight at distance.

Allen Vs. Chikadze Prediction

I see this fight as closer to a pick ‘em than the betting odds imply.

One of the most difficult things to do in MMA is beat a specialist in the same area that the more generally skilled fighter excels. Allen wins fights more often than not via striking, and he’s facing a longtime professional kickboxer. Because Allen wins via kickboxing, his grappling skills — though definitely superior to Chikadze — are more aimed in defending and countering takedowns. For example, his favorite ninja choke, which is responsible for both of his UFC tapout wins, is specifically utilized to counter head inside takedown attempts, a technique Chikadze will almost certainly not attempt.

In short, Chikadze largely gets to rely on his A game, his go-to approach for most every MMA fight. Allen, conversely, is tasked with making significant adjustments to his approach, which is not easy to do at the elite level!

The question is whether Allen is skilled and tactical enough to overcome this challenge. I think he can manage it, in large part because 1) he has footage to study already re: Chikadze vs. Kattar and 2) he’s part of an excellent and strategic camp in Tristar MMA. He should be well-prepared for the challenge Chikadze presents, and hopefully that means he can utilize all his skills and not get stuck in a kickboxing match.

Prediction: Arnold Allen victory (-250)

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