UFC ON ESPN 47: Manuel Torres vs Nikolas Motta 06/17/2023 Odds, Picks and Predictions

UFC ON ESPN 47: Torres vs Motta 06/17/2023 – Manuel Torres and Nikolas Motta seek to register the most important win of their careers as they lock horns on Saturday, June 17, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Torres and Motta clash in a three-round fight that is part of the main card of UFC on ESPN 47. Torres is coming off a win over Frank Camacho in his first and only fight in the UFC in May 2022 while Motta bounced back from an earlier defeat to stop Cameron VanCamp in September 2022. Both fighters are looking to strike a victory that would propel them to the lightweight rankings. MMA fight picks see the Mexican Torres as the favorite in this encounter due to his excellent fight record but Motta has proven in his previous fight that he can compete with the big boys in the UFC.

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Main Card

Manuel Torres

Known in the MMA circles as “El Loco,” Torres (13-2, 1-0 UFC) has been able to make a good account of himself in independent circuits before debuting in the UFC on May 14, 2022. In his only fight, the Mexican struck Camacho hard in the 3:27 mark of the first round en route to a technical knockout win. It has been more than a year since his last fight in the octagon, so he will be hard pressed to duplicate or even eclipse that feat. He will have another match to prove that he is for real on Saturday against the Brazilian Motta.

By virtue of his only win against Camacho, Torres has landed an average of 10.5 strikes per minute at an accuracy rate of 55%. He was able to fend off his rival’s attack, allowing only 3.74 strikes per minute and his defense percentage against the strikes was an outstanding 58%. Grappling wise, Torres was able to defend Camacho’s takedown attempts en route to a convincing victory in his UFC debut. The 28-year-old has registered 12 stoppage wins in his career (six each by knockout and submissions). Torres’ only losses came via the submission variety, meaning that he could fell prey to an excellent grappling maneuver that could force the Mexican to tap out.

Nikolas Motta

Motta (13-4, 1-1 UFC) has been a consistent participant in Shooto Brazil and Cage Fury Fighting Championships before deciding to compete in the UFC. Before going to the world-famous octagon, the Minas Gerais native has recorded an excellent 12-3 MMA record in independent circuits plus the Dana White Contender Series. His debut in the UFC was unimpressive as he fell to Jim Miller via technical knockout in the second round in February 2022. The fighter known as “Iron” came back seven months later and dismantled VanCamp with his precision strikes. The end came at the 3:49 mark of the first round when the referee saw enough and stopped the fight, awarding the victory to Motta.

Motta’s stats in the UFC have been good in his first two fights inside the octagon as he has landed an average of 3.37 strikes per minute. However, his significant strike accuracy rate needs improvement as he has only connected on 34% of his attempts. Although his striking defense was at a high 60%, he needs to bring down his 4.54 strikes absorbed per minute rate. He has the opportunity to improve this against Torres who also leaves himself wide open for a surprise punch or kick from his opponent. In terms of grappling, Motta has not recorded a takedown in his UFC career but has a takedown defense percentage of 100%. The Brazilian has stopped nine of his opponents in his 13 wins – all of them by knockout.