UFC 276: Jalin Turner vs Brad Riddell Picks, Predictions, Odds

Brad Riddell and Jalin Turner fight Saturday in UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena. Riddell enters this fight with a 10-2 record and has won 50 percent of his fights by knockout. Turner enters this fight with a 12-5 record and has won 75 percent of his fights by knockout.

Riddell has won 7 of his last 8 fights, and he’s coming off a December loss to Rafael Fiziev. He is averaging 4.76 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 53 percent. Riddell is averaging 1.87 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 39 percent. Riddell is coming off a knockout loss at UFC on ESPN 31 where he landed 62 total strikes and ate 66 total strikes. It was the first time Riddell was knocked out in his career, and he hopes to avoid back to back losses for the first time in his career. Riddell is now 4-1 under the UFC banner, and all 4 of those wins have come by decision. He is a purple belt in BJJ and comes from a kickboxing background, where he does some of his best work mixing in kicks to the body and has landed 26 leg kicks in his last 3 bouts. Riddell is a striker at heart and wants a fight on the feet, but he has been rather successful with his takedown attempts and has improved his ability on the ground. He has five career knockout wins, and he’s never lost a decision. This will be Riddell’s second career fight in Nevada.

Turner has won 8 of his last 10 fights and is coming off a March win over Jamie Mullarkey. Turner is averaging 6.51 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 47 percent. Turner is averaging 1.16 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 80 percent. Turner is coming off a second round knockout victory at UFC 272 where he landed 53 total strikes and 46 percent of his significant strikes. Turner is now 6-2 under the UFC banner and has a chance to win 5 straight fights for the first time in his career. Turner is light on his feet, comes from a boxing background and has produced finishes in all 12 of his victories. Turner is most known for his standup and punching power, but he also brings the patience, hand speed and footwork as well. Turner is a natural standup striker and if he can just put everything else together, he has a chance to do keep climbing up the rankings at just 27 years old. This will be Turner’s sixth career fight in Nevada.

Riddell is a capable fighter and his leg kicks could be a game changer in this fight. However, I’m not betting against Turner, who is on a roll right now and has a chance to keep climbing these rankings rather quickly. Turner is the busier fighter of the two, has had more success with takedown attempts, and he has a 6-inch reach advantage. Turner and his southpaw stance could also give Riddell some issues.

I’m rather high on Turner and his potential. I’ll lay the reasonable juice.