UFC Vegas 102: Cannonier vs Rodrigues comes to us this week from the Apex. The top fight features middleweights looking to make a statement in a growingly crowded division. Will Cannonier right the ship and get back to his winning ways? Will Rodrigues take the next step forward? We’ll hit that fight and dig through the rest of the card to give you our UFC Vegas 102 best bets. Come check out these UFC Vegas 102 picks for Saturday.
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UFC vegas 102: Cannonier vs Rodrigues – Predictions & Best Bets
Julia Avila +3.5 vs Jacqueline Cavalcanti (+160)
Look, it’s hard to sit here and back a fighter who is currently sitting at +500 on the moneyline. Her long layoff certainly doesn’t inspire confidence either. However, if we look to the spread here, Cavalcanti is not a fighter who obviously outpaces her opponents. In fact, if you tally up the totals on the last two scorecards she posted, she won the first one by a single point and actually had less points on the other (despite winning a split). Avila brings a level of wrestling she hasn’t ever dealt with before that should be able to steal the single round needed for this to cash.
Ismael Bonfim ML (-210) vs. Nazim Sadykov
Sadykov is a fighter who has shown issues with pressure and wrestling in the past. He was getting beat by Evan Elder when a cut stopped the fight in his favor. Plus, despite hurting Ahmad Hassanzada in the first seconds of his Contender Series fight, he was still taken down twice.
Now Sadykov will deal with one of the Bonfim brothers – known for their ability to get in your face and wrestle in they need to. I think Bonfim’s moneyline could be much steeper than it currently is.
Gabriel Bonfim ML (-220) vs. Khaos Williams
Just like I like big brother, I like little brother here as well. Gabriel Bonfim brings that same pressure heavy standup style that makes a lot of fighters uncomfortable. The constant threat of being taken to the ground also makes his opponents gun-shy when it comes to throwing big bombs. Now he faces a guy in Williams that relies on landing a big one. I just don’t think Williams will find that opening with his back against the cage.
Jose Delgado – Wins via (T)KO (+200)
Let me start off by saying that I’m a big fan of Connor Matthews. Unfortunately for him, I think this is a terrible stylistic matchup for him. Delgado has very high level wrestling and normally uses it to force people to trade hands with him. Matthews was forced to do the same on Contender Series with Francis Marshall and it didn’t end well for him. I think Delgado is two or three steps ahead of Marshall with that plan and should probably piece up Matthews pretty good.
Don’Tale Mayes ML (+195) vs. Valter Walker
Don’Tale Mayes may not impress every time out, but one thing that you have to say about him is that he’s durable. It’s been nearly five years since he was finished inside the cage, which is pretty significant at heavyweight. Valter Walker on the other hand has two things working against him. The first of those things is his cardio. He’s shown multiple times that if he doesn’t finish a fight early, he begins to fall apart. He’s also not faced someone who hits quite as hard as Mayes. Both of those things spell upset to me.
Ketlen Souza – Wins via (T)KO (+900)
If you’ve read this column before, you know I won’t end it with anything except a bomb. Consider this my favorite bomb on the card. Souza hits like a truck – particularly when it comes to her right hook. If you watch Angela Hill’s last fight with Tabatha Ricci, she drops her left side anytime she throws with her own right. That counter should be there for the taking. While Hill is durable, this is too juicy to pass up.
If you’d like even more UFC Vegas 102: Cannonier vs Rodrigues 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.
