The UFC returns this weekend with one of the top middleweights in action in Robert Whittaker who takes on Ikram Alisekerov. The original scheduled bout was Whittaker vs Chimaev which was set to shake up the whole middleweight division. We’re now left with Aliskerov who will be looking to cause a big upset in Saudi Arabia.
We’ve taken a look at the whole UFC card and picked out our best three bets for the action.
Either fighter Rnd 1 – Pavlovich vs Volkov
First we’ve taken a look at a huge heavyweight fight between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov. Here we have two huge powerhouses in the division fighting against each other and I’m expecting a quick finish in this fight.
Starting off with Pavlovich who has been touted as one of the hardest hitters in the entire UFC. The Russian boasts an impressive record of 18 wins and two losses with 15 of his wins coming via knockout. Comparing that with his opponent Alexander Volkov who has 24 of his wins coming by way of knockout.
With both of these fighters being so explosive I think this will be over very quickly and I’ll be backing either fighter to win in round 1. You can get more value by picking out Pavlovich to win in Rnd 1 as he is a big favourite but in my opinion, it’d be foolish to write off a veteran like Volkov so we’ll be playing it safe with either fighter Rnd 1.
Either fighter KO/TKO – Walker vs Oezdemir
Next up we have two more hard hitting fighters, this time in the Light Heavyweight division. Johnny Walker will take on Volkan Oezdemir in a fight where I expect fireworks. Both fighters have history of knocking out their opponents and we’ll be backing either fighter to win by KO at 4/5.
Normally I would side with Walker here to win via KO but whenever it seems like he should win a fight, he doesn’t. He’s a really hit or miss fighter, sometimes he looks unbelievable, other times he looks completely lost. Either way, most of his fights end up with a knocking with 21 of his 29 fights ending in a knockout.
On the other hand OEzdemir has 12 wins by KO and 2 losses by KO. Everything here points towards this fight ending via stoppage and I think either fighter KO at 4/5 is great value.
Robert Whittaker to win via decision – Whittaker vs Aliskerov
I’ll be looking at the main event next and we have Whittaker vs Aliskerov to look forward to. As mentioned at the start this was a scheduled bout between Chimaev and Whittaker, instead we have Whittaker vs Aliskerov. I think this is a bit of a blessing for Whittaker as he has a much better chance of winning here in my opinion.
I’ll be siding with a Whittaker victory here but to squeeze some good value out of it, I’ll be going with him to win via decision. Bobby Knuckles has 11 wins by decision in his career which is the most of any of his methods of victory which is priced at 3/1.
Aliskerov is taking this on late notice and whilst he’s still a brilliant fighter, I think Whittaker knows he can take this the distance and get a smooth sailing fight by utilising his stand up and wrestling.
When you combine all these selections we’re left with a treble priced at 13.40/1 with SkyBet. For all those that follow along make sure to gamble responsibly and good luck.