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UFC 293: Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland continues on the prelims with a fight in the welterweight division between Blood Diamond and promotional newcomer Charlie Radtke. Diamond has lost each of his two fights in the UFC meanwhile, Radtke won each of his last four fights coming into his UFC debut. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Diamond-Radtke prediction and pick.
Blood Diamond (3-2) is still winless in his young UFC career, going 0-2 in his first two fights with the promotion. The decorated kickboxer seemed out of place in each of those fights. He hopes to get back on track in a hometown fight with his City Kickboxing teammates as he takes on promotional newcomer Charlie Radtke at UFC 293 this Saturday night.
Charlie Radtke (7-3) is the former Cage Fury Fighting Championship Welterweight Champion after submitting undefeated prospect Raheam Forest in the first round. The MMA Masters product will be looking to make a name for himself when he makes his UFC debut against the hometown favorite Blood Diamond at UFC 293.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC 293 Odds: Blood Diamond-Charlie Radtke Odds
Blood Diamond: +235
Charlie Radtke: -300
Over 2.5 Rounds: +152
Under 2.5 Rounds: -196
How to Watch Blood Diamond vs. Charlie Radtke
TV: ESPN +
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET/ 3:30 p.m. PT (Early Prelims)
Why Blood Diamond Will Win
Blood Diamond had a ton of hype surrounding his UFC debut when he took on Jeremiah Wells at just 3-0. He unfortunately faulted in each of his two fights in the UFC, losing both in dominating fashion. Diamond went back to the drawing back and is now returning to the octagon after a 14-month layoff and he is saying he is getting back to being himself which could result in a better performance in his third and most likely his final chance at having a UFC career.
Diamond did show some of his striking abilities in that last fight against Orion Cosce and that is what we expected to see out of him but his grappling was a major flaw in his game that both Cosce and Wells were able to capitalize on it. He now gets to take on promotional newcomer Charlie Radtke who will have to fight across the world in hostile territory to take on the best striker he's faced in his professional career. This looks like the most winnable fight that Diamond could possibly ask for and it is up to him to make the most of this opportunity to keep his UFC career going this weekend.
Why Charlie Radtke Will Win
Charlie Radtke captured the Cage Fury Fighting Championship welterweight title back in April when he defeated an undefeated prospect by first-round submission. That marked Radtke's only second submission victory in his 10 professional MMA career. He is a well-rounded fighter who is able to win this fight on the feet or on the mat but if he had to choose he would go out there and look to pressure Diamond and put his hands on him early and often.
While Radtke can certainly win some of the exchanges on the feet against Diamond, it will be in his best interest to mix in the grappling as the blueprint is out on him. We all know that Diamond will always struggle in the grappling department and while Radtke may not be the best wrestler and grappler he can mix it up and make it an extremely tough get-right fight for Diamond and come away victorious in his UFC debut.
Final Blood Diamond-Charlie Radtke Prediction & Pick
This welterweight matchup should be an absolute banger between Blood Diamond and Charlie Radtke. This will be Diamond's last hoorah if he is not able to get his first UFC win which puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders but as we know pressure creates diamonds. Radtke is a good striker in his own right and has the power to really hurt Diamond but technical-wise he is outmatched on the feet. With the different variety of attacks and the way that Diamond counters will his long limbs, it's going to be tough for Radtke to get his striking going in this fight. Radtke will need to live and die by his grappling in this fight but I am not sure he can dominate there.
If Diamond can keep this fight standing it's his fight to lose like most of his fights. Ultimately, Diamond will start to land flush on Radtke early and then Radtke will attempt to take this fight to the mat he may get a takedown but Diamond will get back to his feet and eventually knockout Radtke and get the first win of his UFC career.
Final Blood Diamond-Charlie Radtke Prediction & Pick: Blood Diamond (+235), Under 2.5 Rounds (-196)
