I hate to brag, but I’m on a bit of a heater as of late, so you may want to pay attention to the gambling advice that lies within this column. I’m currently on a 24-7 run over the last three UFC events, so I must know what I’m doing (or I’m just lucky – I’ll pretend it’s because I know what I’m doing).
I’ll try to keep the hot streak going with this week’s UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs Holland aka UFC Vegas 23 aka UFC on ABC 2 (it’s probably known as a few other things, but we’ll leave it at that). The main event will see Kevin Holland try to redeem himself after an embarrassing showing just a few weeks ago against Derek Brunson. He was dominated in that fight, a main event also, yet continued to brashly talk throughout the fight and act nonchalant, which made him come off poorly in many people’s eyes.
Unfortunately, he’s stepped out of the fire and into the frying pan with this fight against Marvin Vettori, who is another nightmare matchup for him. Not to mention he’s taking this fight on very short notice, obviously, after original headliner Darren Till broke his collar bone. Vettori is basically a younger, stronger version of Brunson and should be able to take Holland down at his whim and dominate him. I guess that’s why MansionBet currently has the line at 1/4 for Vettori. He’s my pick.
Featherweights Do Battle in Co-Main Event
The co-main event is a much tougher affair to pick for me, with fittingly a much tighter betting line. Two of the top featherweight prospects go at it in Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen and ‘Super’ Sodiq Yusuff. To show just how universal mixed martial arts is, this will be Ipswich, England vs Lagos, Nigeria. Both men have both only lost once in their pro careers (16-1 for Allen; 11-1 for Yusuff) and are both riding big win streaks, with Allen’s at nine straight and Yusuff’s at six. They both are also undefeated in the UFC. I’m leaning to Yusuff at 20/31, as he’s much more active in the striking realm than Allen, but if the fight hits the mats then the advantage goes to Ipswich’s finest.
If you’re looking for underdogs, you’ve come to the wrong place as I’m going almost exclusively chalk this weekend. However, there is one live dog I’m getting behind, and it’s not just because he’s a fellow Canadian (honest). That would be John Makdessi, who will be fighting the debuting Ignacio Bahamondes in a lightweight bout. While the newcomer is much younger and bigger than the Canuck, I think Makdessi’s experience will rule the day, and he’ll have the counters for the Chilean’s fancy striking.
Undefeated and one to watch on Saturday!
@JackShoreMMA | #UFCVegas23 pic.twitter.com/5HfQpQc5F7
— UFC (@ufc) April 8, 2021
That’s it for underdogs I’m liking, but there are other lines I find intriguing. I’m eyeing the undefeated Jack Shore at 8/15 for his bantamweight battle against fellow prospect Hunter Azure. Shore is bigger, younger and has both the striking and grappling stats in his favour, so I think that’s a favourable line to bet on. The debuting Luis Saldana at 5/7 for his featherweight fight with Jordan Griffin is also worth your attention. Saldana is a very good-looking fighter who comes highly regarded, while Griffin has scuffled along to a 1-3 record in the UFC thus far. Finally, I’m expecting South Korean Da Un Jung to run his unbeaten streak to 14 after Saturday’s fight with William Knight. Jung is half a foot taller than his American counterpart, has five inches of reach on him and is five years younger, all stats that point to a winning fighter.
*All odds correct at time of writing.