UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Walker Predictions, Odds & Picks

• It’s a battle of the light heavyweights this Saturday as former title challenger Thiago Santos takes on Johnny Walker in the main event of UFC Fight Night
• The co-main event sees two fan favorites go toe-to-toe as Alex Oliveira takes on Niko Price in a welterweight bout
• Top prospect Aspen Ladd returns to action this Saturday after a layoff of more than a year. She takes on Macy Chiasson in the women’s bantamweight division

UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Walker

The odds for this match are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to Caesars and place a bet.

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UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Walker – Picks & Predictions

Thiago Santos vs Johnny Walker – Light Heavyweight Division

Thiago Santos (-170)

Kevin Holland vs Kyle Daukaus – Middleweight Division

Kevin Holland (-150)

Alex Oliveira vs Niko Price – Welterweight Division

Alex Oliveira (+145)

Misha Cirkunov vs Krzysztof Jotko – Middleweight Division

Krzysztof Jotko (-150)

Aspen Ladd vs Macy Chiasson – Women’s Bantamweight Division

Aspen Ladd (-240)

Alexander Hernandez vs Mike Breeden – Lightweight Division

Mike Breeden (+380)

Thiago Santos vs Johnny Walker – Light Heavyweight Division

Thiago “Marreta” Santos

A former middleweight fighter, Thiago Santos made the decision to move up in weight and fight at 205-pounds in 2018 – despite seeing success at 185-pounds.

But the sudden change proved to be no mistake. Santos made his light heavyweight debut for the UFC against Eryk Anders and earned a third-round TKO stoppage. The fight has also been deemed the fight of the night.

Santos followed that performance with a spectacular second-round knockout of Jimi Manuwa at UFC 231- earning him a performance of the night bonus.

He then went on to win his third fight (and third bonus) in a row at light heavyweight when he defeated current light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz via third-round TKO.

The winning streak granted Santos a shot at Jon Jones and the light heavyweight championship at UFC 239 in 2019. Despite injuring both knees in the bout with Jones, Santos went the distance and even won the fight on one judge’s scorecards as Jones was declared the winner by split-decision. This, in itself, was a victory to Santos.

However, since his impressive performance against Jones, Santos has not looked the same.

The former title challenger took a little over one year off to recover from double knee surgery. He returned to the octagon against Glover Teixeira in 2020 and was submitted in the third round.

Santos most recently fought against Aleksandar Rakic this past March at UFC 259. Unfortunately for Santos, he was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision – marking his third loss in a row.

The Brazilian fighter spends his time training with American Top Team as well as with the TATA Fight Team.

He holds a green rope in capoeira and black belts in both muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Thiago Santos has been competing in mixed martial arts since 2010 and was a contestant on TUF: Brazil 2. He is currently ranked as the fifth-best light heavyweight in the division.

He is eight years older than his opponent.

Johnny Walker

Like Thiago Santos, Johnny Walker was surging in the light heavyweight division before facing adversity and having his hype train derailed (albeit temporarily).

Walker appeared on the Contender Series in 2018, winning his bout on the show and signing with the UFC.

He made his official debut in 2018 and quickly racked up three first-round TKO wins (and three performance bonuses) in a row.

Walker then suffered his first UFC loss in 2019 when he lost via TKO to Corey Anderson at UFC 244. He returned to the octagon a few months later to take on Nikita Krylov and lost that bout via unanimous decision.

Johnny Walker last fought in September 2020 and took on Ryan Spann. Walker returned to form, knocking out Spann in the first round of the fight.

Saturday night will be his first fight of 2021.

A fellow countryman of Thiago Santos, Walker spends his time training in Canada with Tristar Gym and in Ireland with SBG Ireland.

Competing since 2013, he currently holds the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He is the number-10 ranked light heavyweight fighter in the division.

Johnny Walker will hold notable physical advantages in this main event fight as he stands four inches taller than his opponent and will have a six-inch reach advantage.

Bet on Thiago Santos Here!

Kevin Holland vs Kyle Daukaus – Middleweight Division

Kevin “Trail Blazer” Holland

Not only did Kevin Holland tie a UFC record for most fights in one calendar year with five in 2020 – he won all five of them!

Holland’s 2020 year saw him defeat the likes of Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, and MMA legend Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

Unfortunately, Holland’s quick rise saw him start his 2021 year facing off against top-10 talents, and his desire for quick turnarounds has seen him drop his last two fights straight.

He started his 2021 year with a unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson this past March in a match where his lack of wrestling skills were greatly exposed.

Instead of taking time off to work on his methods, Holland jumped back into the octagon just one month later to step in as a replacement for an injured Darren Till to take on Marvin Vettori this past April. He was once again defeated via unanimous decision.

He has not fought since, stating that he has taken the advice from UFC president Dana White to take time off and work on his skills.

Born in California, Holland trains out of Texas with the Phalanx MMA Academy and Travis Lutter BJJ. He holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Lutter himself.

Holland has been competing professionally since 2015 and is currently ranked at number-14 in the UFC middleweight division.

He will have a five-inch reach advantage over his opponent this Saturday night.

Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Daukaus is still a relative newcomer to the UFC roster.

Daukaus signed with the UFC in 2020 as a 9-0 prospect. However, since joining the promotion, Daukaus has gone just 1-2.

He debuted last summer against Brendan Allen and was defeated by a unanimous decision. He fought once more in 2020, defeating Dustin Stoltzfus via unanimous decision at UFC 255.

His most recent bout came earlier this year in May. Daukaus fought Phil Hawes and was ultimately defeated via unanimous decision.

Born in Philadelphia, Kyle Daukaus still trains out of his hometown with the Martinez BJJ team.

Fighting since 2017, Daukaus is a former Cage Fury FC middleweight champion and he defended that title twice before joining the UFC.

Bet on Kevin Holland Here!

Alex Oliveira vs Niko Price – Welterweight Division

Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira

Win or lose, Alex Oliveira comes to fight and puts on a show.

A mainstay of the UFC roster since 2015, Oliveria has fought 20 times for the promotion and has put together a promotional record of 11-8 with one no-contest.

He has seen mixed success lately. After losing three-straight bouts, Oliveria won two in a row in the first half of 2020 – defeating Max Griffin and Peter Sobotta by decision.

However Oliveira now finds himself on a two-fight skid as he dropped his UFC 254 bout to Shavkat Rakhmonov via submission and his UFC 261 bout to Randy Brown – also by submission.

Competing since 2011, Alex Oliveira trains under coach Andre Tadeau and the ATS team. He boasts a dark blue prajied in muay thai as well as a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He has five post-fight bonuses to his name and was the recipient of ESPN’s Fight of the Year in 2017.

Although only one-year older than his opponent, Oliveira has 14 more fights’ worth of experience on his resume.

Niko “The Hybrid” Price

Like Alex Oliveria, is always game to fight and entertain. Also like Oliveira, Niko Price has struggled as of late.

Price has gone 4-4 over his last nine fights (with a no-contest mixed in). Following a KO win over James Vick in 2019, Price was given the chance to avenge his 2017 loss to Vicente Luque at UFC 249. However Price would lose the bout via third-round TKO due to doctor’s stoppage.

In his next fight, Price took on Donald Cerrone. In what was initially deemed a majority draw, the bout was later overturned to a no-contest after Price tested positive for carboxy THC.

His most recent bout came against Michel Pereira this past July at UFC 264. The two fought to a three-round decision with Pereira ultimately receiving the nod from the judges.

The Florida native has been competing since 2012 and currently holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He trains with Vickery Jiujitsu and Syndicate Boxing Club.

Despite his short-comings in the cage, Price has four post-fight bonuses to his credit and is a former Fight Time welterweight champion.

He is one-year younger than his opponent and will stand just one-inch taller.

Bet on Alex Oliveira Here!

Misha Cirkunov vs Krzysztof Jotko – Middleweight Division

Misha Cirkunov

After starting his UFC career in the light heavyweight with four straight wins, Misha Cirkunov has gone just 2-4 over his last six fights and will be making the move down to the middleweight Division this Saturday for the first time in his career.

Cirkunov suffered back-to-back losses in 2017 to Volkan Oezdemir and Glover Teixeira before earning a first-round submission over Patrick Cummins in 2018.

In 2019, Cirkunov went 1-1, losing to Johnny Walker via first-round TKO but later defeating Jimmy Crute via first-round submission.

Cirkunov spent much of 2020 recovering from an injury before returning to the octagon this past March to face Ryan Spann. Unfortunately for Cirkunov, he was defeated via TKO in the first round.

Born in Latvia, Cirkunov lives and trains out of Toronto, Canada with Xtreme Couture.

Competing since 2010, Cirkunov holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and eight of his 15 professional wins have come via submission. He is currently ranked at number 13 in the light heavyweight division.

He will enter the octagon Saturday night with a two-inch height advantage over his opponent.

Krzysztof Jotko

Similar to his opponent, Polish fighter Krzysztof Jotko has struggled, somewhat, over his last stretch of fights. Although he has, arguably, seen more success during his UFC tenure than Cirkunov.

Jotko started his UFC career putting together a promotional record of 6-1 before suffering three losses in a row to David Branch, Uriah Hall, and Brad Tavares – with the latter two losses coming in the form of TKO.

But what better way to follow three straight losses than with three straight wins? Jotko defeated Alen Amedovski, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Eryk Anders from 2019-2020.

Jotko’s most recent fight came against rising contender Sean Strickland this past May. The two fought to a three-round judges’ decision with Strickland being declared the winner – snapping Jotko’s streak.

The 32-year-old trains with both American Top Team in America as well as with Phuket Top Team in Thailand.

Jotko has been competing in mixed martial arts since 2010 and currently holds the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He is currently unranked in the UFC middleweight division.

Bet on Krzystof Jotko Here!

Aspen Ladd vs Macy Chiasson – Women’s Bantamweight Division

Aspen Ladd

With a professional record of 9-1, Aspen Ladd is still considered one of the UFC hottest prospects in any of the women’s divisions.

Ladd signed and debuted with the UFC in 2017 and won her first three straight bouts – a run that included TKO wins over Lina Lansberg and former title challenger Tonya Evinger.

She hit her first career setback in 2019 when she took on former women’s featherweight champion Germain de Randamie and lost via TKO in just 16-seconds.

However, later that same year, Aspen Ladd bounced back with a huge third-round TKO win over another former title challenger in Yana Kunitskaya.

With that said, Ladd has not fought since. She was expected to face off against Julianna Pena in 2020 but Pena had to pull out due to injury. Ladd was then rescheduled to fight Sara McMann but suffered a torn ACL and MCL in training and was forced to pull out and recover.

Ladd and Chiasson were originally scheduled to fight this past July but it was Chiasson who had to pull out due to injury. Now, this fight will finally take place and we’ll see how well Aspen Ladd has recovered from her knee injury.

Born in California, Ladd has been training with the MMA GOLD team since 2012. She began competing professionally in 2015 following a short kickboxing career that saw her go 8-0.

She currently holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is currently ranked as the third-best bantamweight in the women’s division.

She is four years younger than Macy Chiasson.

Macy Chiasson

Like Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson is still a relative newcomer to the UFC, having fought for the promotion just five times and going 5-1 under the UFC banner.

Chiasson made her official debut when she won TUF 28 with a submission win over Pannie Kianzad in 2018.

She followed her tournament win with back-to-back TKO wins before suffering her first (and currently only) professional loss at the hands of Lina Lansberg. The loss came via unanimous decision in 2019.

She has fought once per year since then, defeating Shanna Young via unanimous decision in 2020 and Marion Reneau via unanimous decision this past March.

Competing since 2017, Chiasson trains with Triumph Krav Maga, Fortis MMA, and MidCity MMA. She is currently ranked as number-11 in the women’s bantamweight division.

On Saturday night, she will boast an incredible six-inch reach advantage as well as a three-inch height advantage over Ladd.

Bet on Aspen Ladd Here!

Alexander Hernandez vs Mike Breeden – Lightweight Division

Alexander “The Great” Hernandez

Entering the UFC with a professional record of 8-1, Alexander Hernandez started strong with the promotion.

He debuted against Beniel Dariush at UFC 222 and knocked him out in just 42-seconds. He followed that performance with a unanimous decision win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

Since those wins, however, Hernandez has gone just 2-3. He lost a fight to Donald Cerrone via second-round TKO in 2019 but bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Francisco Trinaldo.

He would then suffer another TKO loss at the hands of Drew Dober before earning a knockout of his own over Chris Gruetzemacher in 2020.

Hernandez most recently fought against Thiago Moises this past February. Unfortunately for him, the fight went to the judges’ scorecards and Hernandez was named the loser via unanimous decision.

Still only 28-years-old, the St. Louis native has been training out of Texas with Factory X since 2020 under coach Jason Yerrington.

Competing professionally since 2012, Hernandez holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and he is a former Hero FC lightweight champion. He also has three UFC performance bonuses to his name.

He will have a two-inch reach advantage over his opponent Mike Breeden and he is the largest betting favorite on the main card.

Mike “Money” Breeden

Saturday night will mark the promotional debut for Mike Breeden.

Breeden appeared on the Contender Series in 2020 riding a three-fight winning streak. However, he found himself on the losing end of a unanimous decision.

He has fought twice since then, both for FAC – earning a second-round TKO win over Ken Beverly and a unanimous decision win over Nick Compton this past May.

Breeden trains with the Glory MMA and Fitness team alongside popular MMA coach and fighter James Krause.

He stands one inch taller than Alexander Hernandez.

Bet on Mike Breeden Here

How to Watch UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Walker