The first fight in the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi, September 26 has been effected by the novel Coronavirus. Shane Young (13-4) has not competed since February of 2019 and was originally scheduled to fight Nate Landwehr, but Landwehr had to pull out due to testing positive for COVID-19. Fortunately for Young, in steps Ludovit Klein (16-2).
Young has an edge in experience, but this is a really hard fight as he had no time to prepare and is facing a southpaw. Young has a quality Strikes Landed per Min. (SLpM) numbers at 6.10, and his striking accuracy at 40% should help. But being a slight favorite against a real unknown makes this a harder than most fight to predict.
Klein on the other hand is a menace and has finished 15 of his 16 wins. All of them outside of the UFC under the Oktagon MMA banner in his native Slovakia. Still, seven knockouts and eight submissions in his 16 wins shows a real power that could stun the UFC regular Young today.
Here are the betting splits at DraftKings Sportsbook for Shane Young vs. Ludovit Klein at UFC 253 on September 26th.
Betting splits
Shane Young: +108, (34% of action, 50% of bets)
Ludovit Klein: -129, (66% of action, 50% of bets)
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