We have two heavyweights of differing styles headlining the latest Fight Night, with Derrick Lewis facing off against Aleksei Oleinik, out of the UFC Apex Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card also displays former champ Chris Weidman in what is a likely do or die fight for the American as well as the return of Yana Kunitskaya and an interesting Middleweight bout for the ever improving Beneil Dariush. We look at some of the key fights below.
UFC Fight Night Betting Tips
Derrick Lewis vs Aleksei Oleinik
What a fight. Not because it is the most technical or even exciting but the fact this fight is almost a throw back to old UFC striker v grappler days. Simply put if Oleinik doesn’t get it down he is getting knocked out and if Lewis hits the mat for a length of time, he is getting submitted. For a heavyweight Oleinik has one of the craziest records and if he wins this, he will notch his 60th professional victory with a record of 59-13-1. As sad as it is to say there is a case to be made that Lewis has the better gas tank and so if by any chance this makes it past the first couple of rounds a Lewis KO looks almost certain. This isn’t a fight that is easy to pick but I think the most likely outcome is Lewis to come out and connect with one of his big right hooks early and put Oleinik out. I don’t see this going into the deep rounds and if by any chance it does then it will be a rough watch between two exhausted men. Lewis gets it done and early.
Value: Round 1 KO ($3.60)
Beneil Dariush vs Scott Holtzman
Holtzman comes into this bout winning two on the bounce, including an impressive win over the ever-durable Jim Miller in his last fight. Dariush backs up for this fight from his second round KO victory over Drakkar Klose where he looked better than ever. At only 31, Dariush has all the skills to be a title contender but struggles to string together complete 15-minute displays and has the tendency to get caught early which is what originally had me worried in picking him here. Dariush has gone to the next level of late though and has built on his primarily grappling expertise. Holtzman needs to crack Dariush early to get this win but I will back Dariush to avoid the big shot and then dominate Holtzman down the stretch. I also have confidence in Dariush getting it to the mat and if he can with a couple of minutes or more in the round to go expect him to take Holtzman’s back and submit him. At over $5 that play also looks great value.
Value: By Submission ($5.25)
Ali Al Qaisi vs Irwin Rivera
Ali Al Qaisi makes his UFC debut here which makes him the first Jordanian to fight in the UFC. His opponent Rivera is a high-pressure style fighter and will always look to walk his opponent down which suits well against Al Qaisi who has a very high guard and is very heavy on his front foot. I expect Rivera to be able to pick him apart and get the victory with relative ease. While Al Qaisi may have early success, I expect Rivera to show his power and cardio advantage and either finish Al Qaisi in round 2 or 3 or at least pull clear on the judges’ scorecards.
