UFC Fight Night 208: Chris Curtis vs Jack Hermansson Picks, Predictions, Odds

Jack Hermansson and Chris Curtis fight Saturday in UFC Fight Night 208 at The O2 Arena. Hermansson enters this fight with a 22-7 record and has won 50 percent of his fights by knockout. Curtis enters this fight with a 29-8 record and has won 55 percent of his fights by knockout.

Hermansson has won 6 of his last 9 fights and is coming off a February loss to Sean Strickland. Hermansson is averaging 4.97 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 44 percent. Hermansson is averaging 1.73 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 30 percent. Hermansson is coming off a decision loss at UFC Fight Night 200 where he landed 137 total strikes and ate 161 total strikes. Hermansson has now lost 3 of his last 5 fights, and 2 of those losses went the distance. Hermansson has an aggressive standup approach where he’s constantly forcing the issue and throwing strong overhand strikes that have some knockout pop. Hermansson is also a pretty successful takedown artist with a wrestling background that goes way back to when he was a child. Hermansson is well conditioned and kind of mucks things up in the octagon a bit, but he’s still produced finishes in 17 of his 22 career wins. Hermansson has seen 4 of his last 6 fights end in decisions. This will be Hermansson’s eighth career fight in England.

Curtis has won each of his last 8 fights and is coming off a June win over Rodolfo Vieira. Curtis is averaging 7.23 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 65 percent. Curtis is averaging 0.00 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 0 percent. Curtis is coming off a decision win at UFC on ESPN 38 where he landed 128 total strikes and 62 percent of his significant strikes. Curtis is now 4-0 under the UFC banner and hasn’t lost a fight overall since PFL 7 in October 2019. This will be Curtis’ eighth fight since January 2021. Just turning 35 years old, Curtis is a stand and bang fighter with little interest of a ground game. Curtis has good movement for a guy his size, underrated athleticism and throws strong overhands. Curtis has 16 career knockouts and 12 career decisions. Only 2 of Curtis’ fights overall have ended in submissions. It’s knockouts or judges when it comes to The Action Man. This will be Curtis’ first career fight in England.

Curtis is a tough fighter to step in front of with the way he’s piling up the wins and taking on fights. This will be Curtis’ eighth fight in about a year and a half. He’s on a role. With that said, Hermansson is the grizzly veteran who not only lands enough shots on the feet to hang with Curtis, but also is capable of taking the American into the deep end of the swimming pool. Hermansson’s wrestling, length and submission game gives him a clear edge in this spot. 

Should be interesting, but I do lean Hermansson in this fight.