Fight Island in Abu Dhabi is the host of another UFC card which is headlined by the intriguing matchup of Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen. The card features an array of up and coming talent as well as some familiar faces with Edson Barboza facing Makwan Amirkhani and Ben Rothwell squaring up against Marcin Tybura. We look at some of the key matchups below.
I love watching both these men fight as they are extremely talented strikers with sneaky submission games and are in the peaks of their careers. Sandhagen comes into this fight on the back of a submission loss to Aljamain Sterling while Marlon Moraes returns for the first time in 2020 on the back of a win by decision over Jose Also. Marlon Moraes is about as talented of a fighter as there is in the UFC. If you were to watch only the first rounds of his fights you would struggle to see who can beat him but sadly when his opponents survive the first round and a half onslaught he inevitably fades badly. This can be seen perfectly in his title fight with Henry Cejudo where he made an absolute mockery of him in the first round before running out of gas, eventually being finished in the third.
Cory Sandhagen is still improving at just 28 years of age and shouldn’t feel bad for being finished by Aljamain Sterling. If Sandhagen can last the initial exchanges he should be able to outwork a tiring Moraes. However, it is a lot to bank on as Moraes only needs to land one of his signature head kicks or counter right hooks to finish the fight in a flash. Sandhagen also has a tendancy to get rocked early in fights and that must be a worry against the best striker he’s ever faced. I don’t like these types of fights from a betting standpoint as you are banking on someone’s durability one way or another. While I was originally staying out there is value to be had in Moraes to win in the first round. 13 of his 16 professional finishes have come in the first round so $6 looks unbelievably juicy.
Chris Daukaus is a smaller man for the Heavyweight division but has great footwork and boxing technique. Rodrigo Nascimento is 8-0 in his professional career and is a submission threat which will inevitably allow him to rack up plenty of UFC wins. However, why this fight stood out is the odds. While I would have leant towards Nascimento to get the win, Daukaus is currently around the $3.25-$3.50 price and at $5 to win by KO. For a striker of the Heavyweight division who has a 9-3 record, of which seven are by KO, $5 is absurd. Granted Nascimento may take him down and grind him out and possibly submit him but Daukaus does have strong enough wrestling and decent enough cardio to keep this standing. If he can keep it on the feet, he is a great chance to knock out Nascimento.
Tony Kelley ($1.40) + Impa Kasanganay ($1.35) + Tagir Ulanbekov ($1.22): (2.30 Sportsbet)
Ali Al Qaisi vs Tony Kelley
This is more of being against Al Qaisi than for Tony Kelley. I was not impressed at all by Al Qaisi in his UFC debut. He lost a split decision to Irwin Rivera, but Tony Kelley would have demolished that version of Rivera. As long as Kelley’s gas tank stands the test, he wins this comfortably as he should have the advantage in all facets of the fight.
Joaquin Buckley vs Impa Kasanganay
Just how good could Impa Kasanganay be? We won’t find out here but we will get to see him put in another impressive display this weekend. Kasanganay won on the Contender Series against Anthony Adams before earning a contract that saw him outwork Maki Pitolo in his UFC debut just eighteen days later. Kasanganay’s striking has come on in leaps and bounds over the last 12 months and he has the wrestling to lean on when he chooses. Striking at range before landing takedown after takedown steers Kasanganay to another clear victory.
Bruno Silva vs Tagir Ulanbekov
Ulanbekov makes his UFC debut and while unknown by most he is the latest prodigy to come out of Russia. He has an 11-1 professional record and is far too good of a wrestler for Silva’s jiu jitsu pedigree to be a factor. Ulanbekov is going to grind him out Khabib style in what will be a tough watch for Bruno Silva fans and a warning for all Flyweights.
We're well up with our NBA betting tips this season and will look to bring you some more winners from the big Saturday slate. Check them out right here! read more
We are in for an absolute cracking match Saturday night as the ladder-leading Sydney Sixers take on the in-form team of the competition in the Perth Scorchers. Billy Bestford is back on deck to take a look at the game in full and give his betting tips here read more
Friday night racing takes place at Moonee Valley this week and our racing expert Trent Crebbin has picked out his best bets for tonight's racing! read more
What a great week it was in the first round of the NFL playoffs. There were some thrilling results in the first six games and there are another four to look forward to this weekend as the divisional round kicks off on Saturday. We have you covered with a preview and betting tips for all four games here read more
The best Australian sports betting sites ensure safe and successful online betting for punters. Here's our list of the best betting options in Australia. read more
Julian Vallance from Sportsbet takes us through some of the key factors which he uses with pricing upcoming horse races such as performance ratings. Check out his video from Sportsbet here. read more
Over-Round is an important concept for both punters and sportsbooks. It's how Australian sportsbooks make money! All punters should understand over-round, how to spot it, and how to find better value on the Betfair Exchange. read more
Ever wondered why you can get such great odds at Betfair in comparison to other online bookmakers? We break down why that is the case and why Betfair isn't just for professional punters here read more
The countdown is on until the BBL10 season officially gets underway! We ranked our BBL10 top 5 batsmen to watch earlier in the week, and today we are doing the same for bowlers! Check out our BBL10 top 5 bowlers to watch, courtesy of Mr.Cricket, here. read more
The BBL10 squads are pretty much finalised and the season is not far away! We've taken a look at the squads for each team, and put together our predicted starting lineups taking into consideration availability of Australian national players and the playing schedule of the international recruits. Check out our BBL10 team lineups here! read more
The Big Bash League season is just around the corner! In the lead up to BBL10, we will be taking a look at some of the key players who will be hoping to lead their teams to victory! Today, we go through the top five batsmen to watch in BBL10 read more
The team at Palmerbet take a look at three key chances for the 2020 Melbourne Cup as punters look to take advantage of the Palmerbet Price Push among 10+ other promos available for Palmerbet customers for the "Race That Stops The Nation" on Tuesday. read more