After a week off, the UFC returns to their home gym, Las Vegas’s UFC Apex, this Saturday with a bloated 15-fight Fight Night card. It looks like they are going for quantity over quality in this case, as the card is seriously lacking star power. Regardless, I plan on keeping my blazing hot streak alive and picking nothing but winners once again this week (technically I didn’t pick ALL winners last event – I went 8-1. Humble brag).
Saturday’s festivities are topped by two light heavyweight tilts, neither with immediate title contender consequences, however. In the main event, journeyman Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith faces young up-and-coming prospect Ryan ‘Superman’ Spann. And I’m starting things off hot here and taking the underdog in Spann, currently listed at 7/5 on MansionBet’s board.
While Smith has won two-straight, he surely has seen his best days already, as this will be pro fight number 52 for him. Plus, Spann is younger, bigger, and a better striker (and probably grappler). He’s gone 5-1 in the octagon thus far – he should make it 6-1 after Saturday and take another step towards the upper echelon of the division. At 30 years old, he’s a virtual pup in the heavier weight divisions of the UFC.
The Hulk Versus Brown Bear
The co-main event sees 205ers Ion Cutelaba and Devin Clark lock horns. A battle of ‘The Hulk’ vs ‘Brown Bear’. And I’ve got to go with The Hulk, Ion Cutelaba. Clark struggles with fighters who get in his face and pressure him, which describes the insanely intense and aggressive Cutelaba to a T (hence the nickname). Cutelaba at 5/8 is the pick and putting some money down on him winning via finish and/or early stoppage might be worth the investment.
Looks like @ICutelaba Hulk-ed up for his co-main event at #UFCVegas37
[ This Saturday | Live on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/BWaZNVCKKu
— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2021
Ok, here’s the part of the column where I normally give you a bunch of juicy underdogs to win you some sweet, sweet plus money. And this week will be no different, as aside from Spann I also like a few other dogs on Saturday. Let’s put some money down on Pannie Kianzad at 21/20 in her women’s bantamweight fight against Raquel Pennington. Kianzad is the far better striker in this matchup, so she should piece up Rocky on the feet. She’s also on a hot streak, winning her last four, while Pennington has only won two of her last five.
I also like Gustavo Lopez at even money (1/1) in his bantamweight bout against Heili Alateng. Lopez should be the bigger man here, as Alateng used to fight at flyweight. I like his power carrying the day here, as well as his finishing ability, as he’s finished all but one of his pro fights (five knockouts and six submissions).
Lock of the Week: Erin Blanchfield
Actually, that’s it for the underdogs – I originally thought I liked more, but it turns out only three out of 15. The stats tell us we should see around five dogs come through on a card this size, so there might be a couple of others hidden in there. See if you can find them.
As for my lock pick of the week, I’m backing a newcomer in Erin Blanchfield. The 22-year-old only has seven pro MMA fights under her belt, but five of them were in the world’s top women’s promotion, Invicta FC, where she went 4-1. She is a grappling wizard, winning a big jiu-jitsu tournament against black belts when she was still a teenager. She should grapple her way to a fairly easy victory over Sarah Alpar on Saturday. You can get her at 1/4 to win on the board currently – if you want to spice things up, take her via submission victory (9/2).