UFC 219 is set to take place this Saturday night (Dec. 30) in Las Vegas, Nevada, and let’s just say that it doesn’t scream”caliber” like preceding end-of-year UFC cards.
Usually the UFC piles its card of this year from top to base. In 2017, we get a major event between Holly Holm and Cris Cyborg. Though it has the potential to be a great fight, it does not necessarily scream”buy this pay-per-view!”
Additionally, this is a very hard card to bet on since there aren’t lots of fights that it is possible to find a strong read on. A number of the favorites, like Cyborg and Khabib Nurmagomedov, deserve to become overwhelming favorites, yet could also easily get merked with their competitions. Danger lurks.
Nevertheless, we must generate some plays. So let us do the best we can to come across a few golden underdogs, some worthy props, along with a rewarding softball. Additionally checking out my Best Bets for UFC Futures from last week, in which I suggested a couple of’puppies (Carla Esparza and Neil Magny) who still hold some value.
Golden Underdogs
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori (-222) vs. Omari Akhmedov (+187)
At first glance, this moneyline in BetOnline seems perfectly okay, but when you take a better look at this preliminary matchup, you can get some strong reasons to take the dog in Omari”The Wolverine” Akhmedov (17-4).
Although Marvin Vettori (12-3) is a larger fighter who loves to throw down, averaging 3.13 significant strikes landed per minute, he does not have enough power to take Akhmedov out through (T)KO, so this fight might wind up being a grappling event. While Akhmedov has shown previously that he has some power in his own hands (seven wins by knockout and two”Fight of the Night” bonuses at the UFC), in which he excels is in the wrestling section. The Dagestani grappler may easily end up controlling the fight if the bulk is spent in the clinch or on the mat.
The kryptonite I watch for Akhmedov is his gas tank. Will he hit a cardio wall just like he did in consecutive knockout losses to Sergio Moraes and Elizeu Zaleski? In both of those declines, Akhmedov started strong but faded badly in the subsequent rounds.
He followed up those losses with two hard-working decision wins Kyle Noke and Abdul Razak Alhassan, the latter an upset at UFC Fight Night 109. Right now I’m leaning towards”The Wolverine’s” hard palms and wrestling acumen for another possibly rewarding upset.
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