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In a bantamweight battle as the last fight of the preliminary card of UFC 259, Dominick Cruz will fight Casey Kenney Saturday at UFC APEX, with this bout available on ESPN+.
The 35-year-old Cruz walks into the octagon with a professional fighting record of 23-3 and ranked 11th in the bantamweight rankings. The veteran fighter last competed in May at UFC 249, where he lost to Henry Cejudo by technical knockout in Round 2. It was Cruz’s first bout since 2016 as he has now lost two-straight matches.
“The Dominator” is a solid striker who can also grapple if he needs to inside the octagon. Cruz lands 3.52 strikes per minute, with 32 percent striking accuracy. He only absorbs 2.28 strikes per minute, while his defense is at 73 percent.
When it comes to grappling, the San Diego-based MMA practitioner has an excellent 3.52 takedown average per 15 minutes and 48 percent takedown accuracy. However, Cruz only boasts a 0.06 submission average, with a takedown average of 83 percent.
Kenney comes to the APEX with a professional fighting record of 16-2-1. This will be his first fight this year after competing in four bouts in 2020. The 29-year-old from Arizona has won three-straight bouts, including a winning decision at UFC 254 in October.
A few weeks prior, Kenney fought at UFC on ESPN 16, where he defeated Heili Alateng by unanimous decision. Out of his 16 professional wins, the mixed martial artist has nine by unanimous decision. Kenney averages 3.16 strikes landed per minute, with an accuracy of 52 percent. But he absorbs a significant strikes per minute at 5.37, while his defense was at 56 percent.
As for grappling, Kenney has a 1.25 takedown average per minute and 80 percent accuracy. His submission average is also better than Cruz’s at 0.62 per 15 minutes, with a defense of 53 percent.
Here are the betting odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney at UFC 259 on March 6th.
Money line odds
Dominick Cruz: +110
Casey Kenney: -137
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