UFC 219 is set to occur this Saturday night (Dec. 30) at Las Vegas, Nevada, and let’s just say it does not scream”quality” like previous end-of-year UFC cards.
Usually the UFC piles its card of the year from top to base. Rather, in 2017, we get a main event between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm. Though it has the capability to be a great fight, it doesn’t necessarily scream”buy this pay-per-view!”
Additionally, this is a very hard card to bet on since there aren’t lots of fights which you can find a strong read on. Many of the favorites, such as Cyborg and Khabib Nurmagomedov, deserve to be overpowering favorites, yet could also easily get merked with their opponents. Danger lurks.
That said, we must make some plays. So let us do the best we can to find some golden underdogs, some worthy props, along with a lucrative parlay. Also checking out my Best Bets for UFC Futures from last week, where I proposed a few’puppies (Carla Esparza and Neil Magny) who hold some value.
Golden Underdogs
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori (-222) vs. Omari Akhmedov (+187)
At first glance, this moneyline at BetOnline seems perfectly okay, but if you have a better look at this preliminary matchup, you can find some strong reasons to take the puppy 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 moment, he doesn’t possess enough power to take Akhmedov out via (T)KO, therefore this fight might end up being a grappling affair. While Akhmedov has revealed previously that he has some power in his hands (seven wins by knockout and two”Battle of the Night” bonuses in the UFC), where he excels is in the wrestling department. The Dagestani grappler could easily wind up controlling the fight if the majority is invested in the clinch or around the mat.
The kryptonite I see for Akhmedov is that his gasoline tank. Can he hit a cardio wall just like he did in consecutive knockout losses to Sergio Moraes and Elizeu Zaleski? In both of these losses, Akhmedov started strong but faded badly in the later rounds.
He followed up those losses with two hard-working decision wins over 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 a second potentially profitable upset.
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