Coming off their biggest event of the year, UFC 239 last weekend in Las Vegas, the UFC traveling roadshow rolls on to Sacramento with top women’s bantamweight contenders Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd headlining Saturday’s card.
But the big news is that hometown hero Urijah Faber is ending his almost-three-year retirement from the sport to once again swap leather in the octagon. While the card is obviously not as stacked as last weekend’s, there are still some intriguing fights and fighters.
But enough of the small talk – let’s decide where you should invest your money on this card.
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Ricky Simon -320 vs Urijah Faber
The California Kid Urijah Faber is an absolute MMA legend and pioneer for the lighter-weight fighters. And he’ll be fighting in his hometown of Sacramento on Saturday.
But he’s in deep against Ricky Simon.
First off, Simon is 13 years younger than Faber. When the age gap is this wide, the smart money goes on the younger fighter. Plus the 40-year-old Faber hasn’t fought since December of 2016 – ring rust is real.
On top of all this, Simon is no joke – he’s only lost one fight, and that was over three years ago when he was only 23, and he’s a very strong wrestler that should be able to counter that strength of Faber’s. While it’ll be nice to see the always-exciting Faber back in the cage, it might have been in his best interest to stay on the sidelines.
Best Bet: Ricky Simon -320
Germaine de Randamie +135 vs Aspen Ladd
The former UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion is worth a gamble here as a live dog, due to experience and size. The Iron Lady is 37-0 in kickboxing, and has fought the creme de la creme during her mixed martial arts career.
She’ll also have a three-inch height advantage and a five-inch reach advantage over Ladd. This just might be too much, too soon, for the 24-year-old Ladd, who has only been fighting professionally since 2015.
Best Bet: Germaine de Randamie +135
Cezar Ferreira +110 vs Marvin Vettori
Mutante is a decent live dog pick here also, due to the same reasons that GdR is above – experience and size. He’ll have a four inch reach advantage over Vettori, plus nine more octagon appearances than his foe. Add in the fact that Vettori hasn’t fought in over a year due to a drug violation, and Ferreira might be worth a bit of your coin this weekend.
Best Bet: Cezar Ferreira +110
