UFC Fight Night 266: Dustin Jacoby vs. Julius Walker Prediction for Saturday, 02/07/26

The first fight on the Main Card at UFC Fight Night 266 will see Dustin Jacoby take on Julius Walker. This will be a fight in the UFC Light Heavyweight division. Jacoby enters this fight with an MMA record of 21-9-1 and 10-6-1 in the UFC. He is averaging 5.37 strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 47%. Jacoby is absorbing 4.02 strikes and has a striking defense of 57%. His grappling ability is less than decent, averaging 0.33 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 25% and a takedown defense of 62%.

Walker enters this fight with an MMA record of 7-1 and 1-1 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.33 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 55%. Walker is absorbing 3.53 strikes and has a striking defense of 43%. His grappling is also solid, averaging 3.50 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 36% and a takedown defense of 100%

Jacoby is the clear favorite; however, Walker looks to be a decent candidate to pull the upset. While Walker has only two fights in the UFC, Jacoby has been mediocre recently, having gone 3-4 in his last 7 UFC fights. Further, Jacoby has the better striking volume, but Walker has the advantage in grappling. Therefore, given the fact that Walker is much more of a balanced fighter, backing Walker to win will be our lean.