UFC Saudi Arabia: Adesanya vs Imavov comes to us this week from Saudi Arabia. Each of the top two fights features middleweights looking to make a statement in a growingly crowded division. The champ, the prospect, the Bellator import, and the upstart Dagestani – which will take the largest step forward? We’ll hit those fights and dig through the rest of the card to give you our UFC Saudi Arabia best bets. Come check out these UFC Saudi Arabia picks for Saturday.
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UFC Saudi Arabia: Adesanya vs Imavov – Predictions & Best Bets
Adesanya vs Imavov – Over 3.5 Rounds (-250)
The main event is a bit of a tricky one based on where you think Israel Adesanya is at. Some feel like he’s approaching the tail end of his career and needs to be faded at all costs. Some think had some motivation issues or bad matchups and should be right back to his old self. Whichever side you fall on, we can all get down on this over. While both fighters are talented strikers, they both can fight a bit cautious at times too. With it being a long fight, I expect both to pace themselves en route to this hitting easy.
Bogdan Grad – Wins via (T)KO (+340)
I’m a bit surprised by just how steep the price is on this one. While Grad hasn’t knocked anyone out in a couple of fights, he does have eight of his fourteen career wins with the hands. That includes some ground and pound and a few other fights with explosivity. Meanwhile, Lucas Alexander is coming off of being brutally KOed and then sitting on the shelf for nearly a year and a half.
Mike Davis ML (-140) vs. Fares Ziam
Both of these fighters are exciting strikers who have recently shown a bit of ground game – making them prospects to keep an eye on. The difference is that Davis has done this before and has shown a better connection between the two realms. Meanwhile, Ziam is a bit clunklier when it comes from going from one art to the other. As a result, I like the moneyline here with Davis just by blending better.
Jasmine Jasudavicius ML (-250) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
People with optimism on Silva seem to have forgotten that we already saw her in this weight class once. She didn’t fare well – particularly when it comes to the grappling. In her five fights at flyweight she was taken down nine times and never once took an opponent down. Now she’s against a grinder with great cardio for her return fight down. That is a recipe for disaster.
Shara Magomedov ML (-185) vs. Michael Page
Speaking of changing divisions, Michael Page will be moving up here to fight another talented striker in Shara Bullet. While these two seem to be a touch closer on the skill-level than the moneyline might suggest, it’s the change in division that worries me. He has more miles on the tank, is moving up, and seems to have less KO power than Shara. With all those benefits going to the Dagestani, I’ll take him here.
Hamdy Abdelwahab – Wins via (T)KO (+500)
Abdelwahab looked great in his UFC debut, but has spent two years on a suspension since then. However, you can’t discount just how much of his career has been surrounded by KOs. His last three fights prior to the UFC ended in KO, his two bare knuckle MMA fights ended with KOs, and 50% of his amateur fights have ended in KO. Maybe Pogues is a tricky guy to put away, but at 5-to-1 this is the lay you want.
If you’d like even more UFC Saudi Arabia: Adesanya vs Imavov bets, be sure to check out the MMA Gambling Podcast. The guys are dropping weekly episodes to make you the smartest guy at the bar.