While the UFC continues to be the king when it comes to MMA and gambling, there is more MMA than ever to bet on now. Promotions all over the world as well as domestic ones are showing up in sportsbooks. The advantage here is that the data is usually quite a bit less sharp than when you’re making MMA predictions for the UFC. So we’ve decided to dig into some each week to get you started on your regional MMA journey. This week we head overseas for RIZIN 52 from Tokyo, Japan for our regional MMA pick.
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MMA Regional Pick of the Week: RIZIN 52
RIZIN Bantamweight Fight: Shoko Sato vs John Sweeney
Card Start Time: Saturday (3/7), 12:00am EST (Internet PPV)
RIZIN surprised us with their latest offering as they unveiled a card with numerous new Americans under contract. The main event features UFC and Bellator veteran Patchy Mix in his promotional debut, but it’s another American champion who we have selected for our pick of the week.
John Sweeney comes to RIZIN after being the LFA 135lbs champion. He brings a strong wrestling base that has been supplemented with a solid striking game. Perhaps the best part of his work on the feet has been his ability to dictate range with a solid jab. He tore apart Rafael do Nascimento in his last fight and wore him down en route to a title victory.
This matchup is a solid one for Sweeney as Sato has already shown some holes in the areas he’s good at. In his last fight, he had issues with the takedown game of Danny Sabatello. While Sweeney might not quite be on that level, he is more well-rounded. That’s significant in this fight, as Sato didn’t really excel against Sabatello on the feet either.
Look for Sweeney to pump that jab out there early and keep the wrestling game in the back pocket should he need it.
RIZIN 52 Pick: John Sweeney ML (-175)
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