With a three-week break from any major MMA cards until a massively stacked UFC 211 on May 13, it’s a good time to peruse the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and see if there are any underdogs you can take advantage of now.
Why? Because it’s better to lock up favorable lines before fight week betting action moves them out of your favor. In extreme cases, like Holly Holm’s upset over Ronda Rousey, you could’ve gotten Holm at around +825 a month before fight night, as opposed to the +450 she closed at. You could’ve been paid out nearly double with a timely bet.
Let’s take a look at a few upcoming fights that you can bet on right now, and pick out a few underdogs that could be worth a shot now.
UFC 211, May 13
Junior Dos Santos (+150) vs. Stipe Miocic (-175)
Jessica Andrade (+145) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-165)
Yair Rodriguez (+145) vs. Frankie Edgar (-165)
The easiest way to beat Junior Dos Santos is to take him down and pound him out. The only guy that’s been able to do that is Cain Velasquez. While Miocic is a good wrestler, he doesn’t have the non-stop grind game of Brown Pride.
There’s a good chance that Junior’s hips keep this fight on the feet, and in a boxing match between the two it becomes a much tougher bout. Their first go-round was a bloody, back-and-forth affair won largely after JDS floored Miocic in the fourth. The rematch could very well be more of the same.
Jessica Andrade, like fellow Brazilian Claudia Gadelha, has ridiculous natural strength and will likely be able to drag this fight to the ground. On top of that, she’s a much better striker than the No. 1 contender.
But can she hang with a cardio machine like J-Check? That’s the big question here. And so far, she’s gone through three-rounds at a high pace no problem. She looks ready for a five-rounder, and a bet on “Bate Estaca” pays out nearly 1.5 times what you put in.
I expect Rodriguez’s line to get more expensive. The kid has looked like a killer lately, and he’s the bigger, more explosive fighter going into the matchup. Edgar’s only got three rounds to figure out his unpredictable offensive style, and it’s easy to see “Pantera” taking two of those with his balls-to-the-wall approach.
UFC Fight Night 109, May 26
Glover Teixeira (+150) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (-180)
Watching Gustafsson get iced by Anthony Johnson is all the evidence you need to talk yourself into a placing a bet on Glover Teixeira. The Brazilian is nowhere near as explosive a puncher, but he’s definitely a guy that can starch chins. And Gustafsson has a tendency to get hit hard a few times in tough fights.
Teixeira’s wrestling factors in here too. It’s not likely he can win the fight with it, like he did against Jared Cannonier, but he could mitigate some of “The Mauler’s” offense with the threat of takedowns.
UFC 212, June 3
Fabricio Werdum (+130) vs. Alistair Overeem (-160)
It only takes one solid shot to Overeem’s dome to send him into a wobbly daze reminiscent of Streetfighter 2. And lest we forget, Werdum’s standup has improved to the point where he flying knee’d Mark Hunt into oblivion and thrashed Travis Browne twice.
If Werdum can turn this into a sloppy fight – Overeem’s shallow gas tank puts him at real risk of getting stopped by a better conditioned fighter.
