UFC Copenhagen: Preview, Odds and Best Bets

All good things must come to an end, and my gambling hot streak is no exception. After predicting seven-straight fights correctly, a spinning backfist from Steven Peterson snapped my winning surge last weekend in Mexico.

But chin down, hands up, let’s get back into the fight this weekend in Copenhagen, where UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Cannonier goes down. This will act as a “home game”, in sorts, to Jack ‘The Joker’ Hermansson, as Denmark is in the same neck of the woods (more or less) as his home country of Sweden and his current home in Norway. The surging Hermansson, who’s won four straight and seven out of nine fights since joining the UFC in 2016, is a solid -250 favorite over ‘The Killa Gorilla’ Jared Cannonier, who most recently destroyed Anderson Silva’s leg at UFC 237.

The fight lineup is surprisingly solid from top to bottom, with quite a few top ranked talent set to trade blows on Saturday.

Now, let’s get on another hot streak, shall we?

Odds via MyBookie

Ion Cutelaba (+105) vs Khalil Rountree

This number was +110 when I checked it a few hours ago, so people seem to be on the same wavelength as I am with this fight. Khalil Rountree looked like a whole new fighter in his last contest, picking apart Eryk Anders, which explains why he’s the favorite here (for now). However, that was only one fight, and was against a guy who normally fights as a middleweight, a weight class below light heavyweight. While Cutelaba lost his last fight against Glover Teixeira, he put on a good showing of himself. He basically only loses via submission, which Rountree doesn’t specialize in, and he’s got fantastic knock out power. Definitely worth an underdog play here.

Ismail Naurdiev (-185) vs Siyar Bahadurzada

I’m going with another fighter on a one-fight losing skid here, but this one is a comfortable favorite. You don’t get the moniker ‘The Austrian Wonderboy’ unless you’re really good, so Ismail Naurdiev is a good play here. First off, his opponent, Siyar Bahadurzada, also lost his last fight. Plus Naurdiev is 12 years his junior, which normally is an advantage in MMA. The Austrian also is a far better striker – both more accurate as well as having better defense. He should also have the grappling advantage, as his takedown accuracy and defense numbers are superior to Bahadurzada’s. Look for the Austrian youngster to get by the grizzled Afghan.

Jack Shore (-165) vs Nohelin Hernandez

Keep an eye on newcomer Jack Shore this weekend when he makes his octagon debut. The 24-year-old Welshman is 11-0 in his pro career, with 10 of those wins coming in Cage Warriors, one of Europe’s premier MMA promotions, where he was also the bantamweight champ. Against the United Kingdom fighter stereotype, he’s a talented grappler, scoring six wins via submission (to go with four KOs). He should have the goods to get the victory over Nohelin Hernandez, wherever the fight goes.