If you’re looking for bad beats, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s review our last few weeks worth of bets, shall we? Gerald Meerschaert – loser via a controversial judges’ decision that most viewers of the fight disagreed with; James Vick – loser via an upkick KO while he had his opponent pinned to the mat; Kron Gracie – the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard decided to get in a 15 minute striking battle with Cub Swanson; Manny Bermudez – was on top of his opponent, raining down ground and pound, when he got caught in an armbar. Mercifully, Chris Weidman’s chin cracked, as predicted, and Dominick Reyes snapped our losing skid.
And the UFC train rolls on, week after week. This Saturday the octagon makes its yearly visit to the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The main event pits two grappling aces – Demian Maia and Ben Askren. However, they are two very different grappling aces, with Maia being a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard, and Askren excelling in his very own “funky” wrestling style. The wrestler is currently a -180 (and rising) favorite in this one. As long as Askren can avoid Maia’s vice-like submissions, and as long as his chin isn’t shot from the flying knee he got courtesy of Jorge Masvidal in his last outing, he should be able to grind this one out. But that is a few too many “ifs” for me to recommend a bet on this fight.
However, here are the fights I do recommend throwing some cash down on.
Frank Camacho (+120) vs Beneil Dariush
One of my new betting strategies is to go against guys/gals who have proven their chins are shot. Because once a fighter has lost his ability to take a punch (or kick or knee or elbow or… you get the point), it never comes back. And if the fighter isn’t willing to accept his/her new reality and change their style, they’ll continue to get KTFO (see Weidman, Chris). Which is why I’m suggesting putting money on the hard-hitting, and now more strategic, Frank “The Crank” Camacho. His opponent, Beneil Dariush, was brutely knocked out the past two times he faced a knock out artist like Camacho. And with 17 of his 22 wins coming via (T)KO, The Crank is definitely a KO artiste. As an added bonus, you can get him for plus money in this one.
Jeff Hughes (-220) vs Raphael Pessoa
We head to the curtain jerker for our second pick. While -220 is pretty high odds for a heavyweight fight, when one punch can really change things, this seems like a pretty safe play. Jeff Hughes is talented striker and solid grappler, still searching for his first UFC win. His opponent on Saturday, Raphael Pessoa, got lit up in his UFC debut, being outstruck at an almost 3:1 clip, then got submitted by Ciryl Gane, who is known as a kickboxer, not a submission grappler. Hughes’s search for his first octagon win should end in Singapore.
Overall Results for This Column
Record: 24-19
Earnings (based on $100 bet per): (-$95.83)
Return on Investment: N/A
