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 keep it domestic for LFA 233 from Salamanca, NY for our regional MMA pick.
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MMA Regional Pick of the Week: LFA 233
LFA Welterweight Fight: Jonathan Piersma vs Diego Bianchini
Card Start Time: Friday (5/22), 9:00pm EST (Vice TV)
Friday is alright for fighting – and LFA is giving us a pair of title fights to prove it. Closing down the card on Vice TV this Friday is a welterweight contest between two fighters with UFC ties. The challenger, Diego Bianchini, spent time in the Ultimate Fighter house as part of season 33. Meanwhile, the champ Jonathan Piersma has been kicking around the UFC’s periphery for some time, which included a spot on a Road to UFC card.
In terms of the stylistic matchup, I think this is a nightmare for Bianchini. While the Brazilian clearly has some chops when it comes to grappling, he’s shown issues with those who bring a heavy wrestling game. We saw him controlled for long periods of time on the Ultimate Fighter. Rodrigo Sezinando spent the better part of a round piecing him up from top control. There’s an argument to be made that the wrestling and top control of Piersma is degree better than Sezinando.
Additionally, we’ve seen Bianchini with issues regarding cardio. In his first fight post-show, he faced castmate Jefferson Creighton. In that fight, he was the early aggressor, but ultimately faltered with the pace of the fight. Now he’ll likely need to dig deep for five rounds against a guy who has gone 25 minutes before with no issue.
Piersma simply plays right into the problem areas for the Brazilian, which is why I see a lot of value on this line.
LFA 233 Pick: Jonathan Piersma ML (-250)
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