The UFC heads to Charlotte, North Carolina this weekend for a UFC event headlined by two of the Heavyweights heaviest hitters. In the main event Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida face off in what is very much a title contender fight as the winner likely sits behind Sergei Pavlovich as the division’s top contender. In the co-main Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker go head-to-head and Daniel Rodriguez meets undefeated Irishman Ian Garry in a feature main card bout. The card is stacked with big names and we take a look at my best bets for this weekend’s UFC event below.
UFC Fight Night Preview & Betting Tips
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Jailton Almeida
Jailton Almeida would be Heavyweight’s biggest prospect if not for Sergei Pavlovich. The Brazilian has plenty of fights at 205 pounds and has looked sensational in the Octagon to date. He is a menace to deal with on the mat and has decent stand up where he works well behind a stiff jab. This will be a good test as he faces Jairzinho Rozenstruk, whose power is revered as experienced first hand by Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski and Chris Daukaus. Yet he has shown a weakness in wrestling and when he is backed up to the fence, which bode terrible against Almeida. Simply put this is the perfect matchmaking to get eyes on the UFC’s latest Heavyweight prospect and he should be winning. However, I am not backing him at the odds on offer as the Suriname native will punish any poor entry and I don’t ever want to sweat out a $1.10 to $1.20 Heavyweight favourite.
No Bet
Daniel Rodriguez vs. Ian Garry
In a welterweight bout not to be missed Daniel Rodriguez faces Ian Garry, with the Irishman looking to extend his record to 12-0. I am a big D-Rod fan admittedly and I believe this stylistically matches up well for him. Ian Garry has long been touted as the new Conor McGregor yet I am honestly not sold. He scraped past a 5-3 Darian Weeks before outlasting Gabe Green in his first two bouts. Last time out he was knocked down by Kenan Song before finishing him in the third. None of his past opponents could hold a torch to D-Rod whose struggles have always been on the mat where this fight will loikely only go on his terms. Rodriguez has wins over Kevin Lee, Li Jingliang and Mike Perry, tried and tested fighters. I see too many holes in Garry’s game for him to be such a clear favourite and therefore will back the American to stop the hype train.
Daniel Rodriguez to win
$3.20 (2.5 Units)
Kim Ji Yeon vs. Mandy Bohm
The pair were set to meet at the beginning of the year but has been rescheduled for this weekend. Ji Yeon Kim is on a four-fight losing streak which often would put me off but she has such a substantial advantage over Mandy Bohm it isn’t funny. Bohm entered the UFC undefeated but has lost both her Octagon bouts to date. Bohm has one of the most abysmal gas tanks I have seen in women’s MMA in any organisation and doesn’t do enough early to cause issues for Kim, it is hard to believe she was 7-0 entering the Octagon. Kim either stops her with strikes late or secures a one-sided decision victory.
Kim Ji Yeon to win
$1.50 (4 Units)
