UFC Fight Night 273: Thiago Moises vs. Gauge Young Predictions for Today, 04/18/26

The second fight on the Main Card at UFC Fight Night 273 will see Thiago Moises take on Gauge Young. This will be a fight in the UFC Lightweight division. Moises enters this fight with an MMA record of 19-9 and 9-7 in the UFC. He is averaging 2.48 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 42%. Moises absorbs 4.08 strikes and has a striking defense of 53%. His grappling is also decent, averaging 1.31 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.1 submission attempts during the same period. He has a takedown accuracy of 35% and a takedown defense of 52%.

Young enters this fight with an MMA record of 10-3 and 1-2 in the UFC. He is averaging 5.71 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 51%. Young absorbs 5.82 strikes and has a striking defense of 48%. His grappling ability has been decent, averaging 1.00 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 30% and a takedown defense of 70%.

Young is the small favorite in this fight; however, Moises looks to be a decent option to pull off the upset. While Moises has not been in the greatest form, he has far more experience in the UFC compared to Young. Further, Young has not had a great start to his UFC career, and Moises has the clear advantage in terms of grappling. With this, backing Moises to win will be our lean.