UFC Atlantic City gambling preview: Will Erin Blanchfield keep rolling toward a title shot?

After back-to-back weekends within the APEX, the UFC hits the highway on Saturday for UFC Atlantic Metropolis, which is headlined by a ladies’s flyweight bout between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot. Given the state of the flyweight division, this looks like a surefire title eliminator bout, so who will go away Saturday night time subsequent in line for the throne, and how are you going to revenue? Let’s get to it.

As all the time, all odds are courtesy of our associates at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Straight Bets

Erin Blanchfield (-192)

I’ve made my ideas about Blanchfield no secret on the varied MMA Preventing movies and podcasts: She’s the very best feminine fighter alive immediately. Blanchfield is a nightmare to take care of on the bottom, and her athleticism, tempo, and sturdiness make her almost not possible to beat over 25 minutes. Her weakest space stays her placing, however she’s greater than prepared to throw down, and she or he’s robust sufficient that she will win that section of the sport by means of will energy. The worst half for different flyweights is she’s solely 24 years previous; she is simply scratching the floor of her peak kind, and that’s dangerous information for everybody else.

That mentioned, I’ve lots of respect for Manon Fiorot. She’s large and athletic and striker, if not a very threatening one. I’ve in contrast her to athletic Katlyn Chookagian earlier than, and I stand by that. She’s additionally defensive wrestler, which suggests she goes to have the ability to take a look at Blanchfield. However since she lacks large energy in her placing, I count on “Chilly Blooded” to stroll by means of the hearth and take over because the combat heads into the later rounds.

Vicente Luque (-112)

Luque is barely 32 years previous, however he one way or the other appears historical. A few of that comes from being round for thus lengthy. Nevertheless it’s additionally from the truth that he’s taken lots of injury over the course of his profession (the person has 4 “Struggle of the Evening” bonuses for a purpose). However in his most up-to-date outing towards Rafael dos Anjos, he obtained away from his reckless, brawler model and leaned on his grappling benefit. He ought to be capable to do the identical towards Joaquin Buckley, who’s a strong fighter however tends to fade down the stretch.

Buckley has appeared good since dropping again all the way down to welterweight, however Luque is a giant step up, and I believe the young-but-old canine nonetheless has sufficient tread on the tires to get this achieved.

Ibo Aslan (-130)

I’ve been betting all of my favourite prospects from the latest season of Contender Sequence this 12 months, and to date, it’s been figuring out. Mixed, the “Massive Paws On A Pet” tier is 6-0 since becoming a member of the UFC, and with Aslan slotting into that group, that is a straightforward guess for me. A few of you may be considering, wait, didn’t Aslan lose to Anton Turkalj a number of years in the past? Certain did. However they had been each 23 years previous then. Aslan has improved leaps and bounds since then, and I believe “The Pleasure Man” is in for a tough night.

Prop Bets

Crazy Godinez To Win By Choice (-135)

In among the best fights on the whole card, Godinez faces Virna Jandiroba in a bout that has exterior implications for the 115-pound title. And thankfully for Godinez, she’s obtained likelihood to win it.

Godinez is all strain, tempo, and quantity, and that traces up nicely towards Jandiroba, who’s an elite grappler however not the very best wrestler. On the ft, she ought to merely out-work Jandiroba, and given how robust of a defensive wrestler she is, it’s unlikely she’ll be taken down constantly. Given {that a} end is very unlikely (Jandiroba has by no means been stopped, and 9 of Godinez’s 12 profession wins got here on the playing cards), this prop guess is the correct play.

Lengthy Shot of the Week

Chris Weidman To Win By Submission (+650)

Sure, Weidman is 39 years previous. Sure, he’s misplaced seven of his previous 9 fights. Sure, he suffered a catastrophic leg harm that perpetually modified him and his profession. All of this stuff are undoubtedly true.

However what if?

Even factoring in all the above information, Bruno Silva shouldn’t be a world beater. He’s 1-4 in his previous 5 bouts, and 7 of his 10 profession losses have come by submission. Earlier than he grew to become well-known for knocking out Anderson Silva, Weidman was an NCAA All-American wrestler and a rattling good submission grappler. Add to that, Weidman is undefeated towards fighters named Silva – and undefeated in New Jersey.

Every part is lining up Weidman on Saturday.

Wrap Up

Whereas final week’s APEX card could not have been nice, it was at the least a successful week. Now that we’re out and into an actual venue, let’s hope we convey the nice luck with us. No parlay this week, as I solely had a number of bets I actually appreciated, so let’s hope the straight motion does us nicely.

Till subsequent week, benefit from the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

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