The main slate for UFC 267 features a six fight card. The card is headlined by two title fights. The first is an interim title matchup between former bantamweight champ Petr Yan and contender, Cory Sandhangen. The main event is for the undisputed light heavyweight championship of the world between champion Jan Blachowicz and #1 contender Glover Teixeira. All projections are based off a fighter’s CC rating and their place in the CC rankings.

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir (Men’s Light Heavyweight)

Magomed Ankalaev

• CC Rating: 1773.1
• Division Ranking: 6th out of 41 light heavyweights
• Overall Ranking: 54th out of 500 men

Volkan Oezdemir

• CC Rating: 1683.2
• Division Ranking: 14th out of 41 light heavyweights
• Overall Ranking: 162nd out of 500 men

After losing his UFC debut to Paul Craig by submission in literally the last second of the fight, Ankalaev has looked unstoppable. He is perhaps best known for his two first round KOs of Ion Cutelaba (one far more decisive than the other). His last time out, he scored a unanimous decision win over Nikita Krylov, Cage Calculus’ #11 ranked light heavyweight contender (#9 by the official UFC rankings). He is beating the best of the best and has been almost perfect in doing it. Dagestanis are making runs at UFC gold all over the place and Ankalaev may be the most overlooked of all of them.

On a night where the UFC light heavyweight belt will be on the line, Oezdemir, a former light heavyweight title challenger himself, will settle for opening the main card. His title loss to then-champ Daniel Cormier kicked off a three fight losing streak. Oezdemir would right the ship in 2019 by scoring impressive wins over Ilir Latifi and Aleksandar Rakic. However, his last time out, he was brutally KO’d by rising Czech star Jiri Prochazka. Oezdemir is still only 32 and it should not be assumed he’s over the hill just yet.

Ankalaev may be one of the most underrated fighters in the light heavyweight division. The forecast believes he’ll show just that to open the main card.

CC Projection: Magomed Ankalaev (62.3%)

Li Jingliang vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Men’s Welterweight)

Li Jingliang

• CC Rating: 1772.5
• Division Ranking: 11th out of 74 welterweights
• Overall Ranking: 55th out of 500 men

Khamzat Chimaev

• CC Rating: 1668.2
• Division Ranking: 39th out of 74 welterweights
• Overall Ranking: 184th out of 500 men

Jingliang has won three of his last four fights in the UFC. Each of those three wins came by KOs that earned him a “performance of the night” bonus. When he steps in there, he puts on a show. This fight will be his 15th in the UFC. The welterweight division is hurting for contenders to face the division’s champion, and UFC’s #1 rated pound-for-pound fighter, Kamaru Usman. A win over the most hyped prospect in recent memory would be a good way to get attention. And no one can say Jingliang is boring inside the octagon.

Chimaev lit the MMA world on fire when he delivered two KO wins in a span of just ten days to start his UFC career. Less than two months later, he delivered a third, knocking out Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds. He has earned a “performance of the night” bonus in every one of his UFC appearances. The Chechen/Swedish fighter is coming back now after almost a year off to recover from the effects of a pretty nasty case of COVID-19. Doubters will say he’s unproven. This will be his best test to date by far.

Despite the confidence of fans and Vegas oddsmakers, the forecast is one of the doubters that believes Chimaev is unproven. We’ll see soon, but Jingliang comes in as the known quantity and the favorite.

CC Projection: Li Jingliang (64.6%)

Alexander Volkov vs. Marcin Tybura (Men’s Heavyweight)

Alexander Volkov

• CC Rating: 1794.9
• Division Ranking: 6th out of 40 heavyweights
• Overall Ranking: 43rd out of 500 men

Marcin Tybura

• CC Rating: 1757.1
• Division Ranking: 7th out of 40 heavyweights
• Overall Ranking: 71st out of 500 men

Volkov always seems to be on the cusp of a heavyweight title shot before suffering a setback. Volkov began his UFC career with four straight wins. It looked like he’d secure his fifth straight in October 2018 against veteran and top contender, Derrick Lewis. However, with 11 seconds left to go, Volkov got caught with a right hand from Lewis and the fight was over in defeat. He then recovered to win three of his next four, including KO wins over Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. Then, he ran into Ciryl Gane who would win by unanimous decision and go on to get the interim title shot. Volkov circles back looking to begin yet another trek towards heavyweight gold.

Tybura is beginning his own march towards the title. After a nearly two year stretch that saw him lose four out of five fights, Tybura is currently riding a five fight winning streak. His last two have resulted in KOs that earned him “performance of the night” honors. Volkov represents the highest rated fighter Tybura has faced in his career. A win here would keep him moving up the ladder. After Volkov, though, there’s not too much higher to go.

Volkov has righted the ship in the past and the forecast believes he has a better than even chance to do it again.

CC Projection: Alexander Volkov (55.4%)

Islam Makhachev vs. Dan Hooker (Men’s Lightweight)

Islam Makhachev

• CC Rating: 1824.8
• Division Ranking: 7th out of 85 lightweights
• Overall Ranking: 34th out of 500 men

Dan Hooker

• CC Rating: 1764.2
• Division Ranking: 12th out of 85 lightweights
• Overall Ranking: 64th out of 500 men

The MMA world dearly misses former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, it has renewed hope that it might get to see something similar in Makhachev. Makhachev, a training partner of Khabib’s, has been almost as dominant as his Dagestani counterpart. He is 9-1 since joining the UFC and 20-1 over the course of his career. Any fighter who trains with Makhachev will tell you his pressure is relentless in the grappling game. Nine of his 20 pro wins have come by submission. What separates him from most is that he also has KO power in his hands, with another three KOs to his name. Makhachev has perhaps the highest ceiling of anyone in the loaded lightweight division.

Hooker has had a tough road. After being KO’d by Michael Chandler at UFC 257, he had to go through a lengthy quarantine before being able to return to training and his family. He then had trouble with the New Zealand government to be able to make it to Las Vegas for UFC 266. He made weight less than 24 hours after landing and went on to beat Nasrat Haqparast. He now steps in on short notice to replace Rafael Dos Anjos. There are few competitors quite like Hooker, even in a sport that’s full of tough competitors. Not too long ago, Hooker gave Dustin Poirier, the division’s #1 contender, a run for his money. Hooker is capable of beating anyone in the division if he’s on.

Makhachev’s dominance cannot be ignored. Hooker’s long resume is enough to keep him within striking distance, but the model favors the Russian.

CC Projection: Islam Makhachev (56.8%)

Petr Yan vs. Cory Sandhagen (Men’s Bantamweight Interim Championship)

Petr Yan

• CC Rating: 1819.3
• Division Ranking: 5th out of 80 bantamweights
• Overall Ranking: 37th out of 500 men

Cory Sandhagen

• CC Rating: 1783.5
• Division Ranking: 8th out of 80 bantamweights
• Overall Ranking: 47th out of 500 men

Many in the MMA community still view Yan as the rightful UFC bantamweight champion. He was indeed on his way to a comfortable victory over Aljamain Sterling before an illegal knee ended the fight by disqualification. The belt went to Sterling with calls for an immediate rematch. Yet, a neck injury has sidelined Sterling for a while. Yan was 7-0 in his UFC career prior to the Sterling fight. He’s fought some of the best the division has to offer, including wins over Jimmie Rivera, Urijah Faber, and Jose Aldo. The only reason he’s not ranked as the highest bantamweight is due to the Sterling “loss” and the fact that the model respects the championship resumes of Jose Aldo, TJ Dillashaw, and Dominick Cruz, all still fighting in the division. Yan can add to his own championship resume by putting gold back around his waist.

Sandhagen scores this title shot after a loss in his last fight. However, many believed he actually defeated TJ Dillashaw in that razor thin split decision. Dillashaw, however, suffered a knee injury in that bout that’ll keep him out of action. So, the universe rights itself for Sandhagen and he gets a shot at the [interim] title anyway. Sandhagen has an impressive body count as well. His last win saw him deliver a KO of the year contender against Frankie Edgar. He also knocked out former title contender Marlon Moraes with a spinning kick to the head. Sandhagen can hit you from anywhere and has beaten the best of the best.

The model gives the former champ the edge to claim the interim title that many believe should be his anyway.

CC Projection: Petr Yan (55.1%)

Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira (Men’s Light Heavyweight Championship)

Jan Blachowicz

• CC Rating: 1929.8
• Division Ranking: 1st out of 41 light heavyweights (Champion)
• Overall Ranking: 10th out of 500 men

Glover Teixeira

• CC Rating: 1882.3
• Division Ranking: 2nd out of 41 light heavyweights
• Overall Ranking: 15th out of 500 men

Blachowicz has been underestimated his whole career. In his last five fights, the Polish fighter was an underdog in three according to the CC forecast. According to Vegas oddsmakers, he was an underdog in all five. Yet, he emerged victorious in all five, displaying his patented “legendary Polish power.” Winner of nine of his last ten, Blachowicz is hitting his stride at the ripe age of 38. He’s delivered KOs in five of those nine wins. Blachowicz boast one of the most impressive schedule strengths in the UFC, having fought very highly rated fighters consistently for years. His record of success in such fights is what’s vaulted him into Cage Caluculus’ top 10 in the men’s overall rankings.

Oddly enough, Blachowicz will be the younger fighter. Teixeira celebrated his 42nd birthday Thursday and would be the oldest first-time champion in UFC history with a win. It’s impossible to deny him the title at this point, given his current five fight winning streak includes names like Nikita Krylov, Thiago Santos, and Anthony Smith. The UFC has set him up to be a stepping stone for other contenders and Teixeira has held the line long enough to earn his own title shot. It has been seven-and-a-half years since he fell to Jon Jones in the only other title fight in his career. Barring some absurdity, this will be Teixeira’s last chance to claim gold.

Blachowicz’s finishing ability and strength of schedule make him a particularly tough champion to top. That’s why he’ll come in as the favorite to retain his belt.

CC Projection: Jan Blachowicz (56.8%)

Photo Credit: ESPN