UFC Fight Night- Curtis Blaydes vs. Alexander Volkov
This is my first handicap on this site. UFC Fight Night on June 20th should be one of the better fight nights of the year, headlined by a match between two top contenders in the heavyweight division. Curtis Blaydes is a bonafide super star coming in as the number three contender in the division. His opponent, Alexander Volkov, has drawn comparisons to Ivan Drago because of how absolutely massive he is. Volkov comes in as the number seven ranked fighter in the heavyweight division. Quite the headliner for a fight night if you ask me. My guess is that the UFC is grooming Blaydes for a title shot after Ngannou fights the winner of Stipe/DC.
Curtis Blaydes (-430) vs. Alexander Volkov (+295): Blaydes by KO/TKO
The big thing with these events in Vegas is the smaller cage. Based on the last two events, it has been pretty clear that fights are being finished at an insanely increased pace. Conventionally, a smaller cage favors the grappler, therefore I have to give Blaydes and his well known wrestling skills the advantage over Volkov who is known as more of a striker. Blaydes likes to bring his opponent in close, take him to the ground, and finish them from the top mount. I’ll go Blaydes in the second after Volkov gets gassed in the first trying to defend from Blaydes’s ground game.
Shane Burgos (-160) vs. Josh Emmett (+135): Burgos by KO/TKO
This will probably be the fight of the night. Shane Burgos is a surging star in the featherweight division. His only UFC loss came at the hands of Calvin Kattar. Emmett has won nearly half his fights via decisions. This is gonna be a quick paced fight with Burgos taking advantage of his size and reach advantage.
Raquel Pennington (-185) vs. Marion Reneau (+155): Reneau by KO/TKO
Pennington wins 60% of her fights by decision. Reneau wins 56% of her fights by TKO/KO. Although Pennington had early success with wins by submission in her amertuer career, only three of her ten wins have come by submission in the UFC. Look for Reneau to dominate this fight with her striking.
Belal Muhammad (-125) vs. Lyman Good (+105): Good by KO/TKO
Belal’s last five wins have come by decision. Based on the last event’s quick pace, I’m gonna take the fighters that have a shot to end the fight inside the three rounds. Good is a much better striker, it should only take one strike to end this one.
Roosevelt Roberts (-260) vs. Jim Miller (+190): Roberts by KO/TKO
Roberts is a rising star in the UFC. Roberts finishes his fights 50% of the time. Jim Miller is one of the most experienced lightweights in the division with some good wins on his resume. All that being said, Roberts is bigger, faster, and has more power. If Jim Miller is gonna win, it’s gonna be via a first round submission (+770) which does hold a lot of value.
Bobby Green (-285) vs. Clay Guida (+205): Green by Decision
At this point in his career Guida has taken a lot of damage in a lot of fights. Green should’ve won his most recent fight against Francisco Trinaldo. I think this one isn’t that close.
Brianna Van Buren (-220) vs. Tecia Torres (+165): Torres by Decision
This is probably one of the most interesting fights on the card. At one point Torres was considered a top fighter in the strawweight division. She has since fallen off, losing her last four. Those last four fights have come at the hands of three former champions and an undefeated Marina Rodriquez. This is one of the best value bets on the card.
Oskar Piechota (EV) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (-120): u2.5 (-140)
Both of these guys are on a three fight losing streak, which means whoever loses here probably gets dropped.Barriault’s last three losses have all come at the hands of the judges, whereas Piechota has been stopped in all three. These guys both have heavy hands and will likely be throwing for the fences. If I had to lean a fighter, I would pick Barriault.
Gillian Robertson (-125) vs. Cortney Casey (+105): Gillian Robertson by Submission
Gillian Robertson has a great take down. Robertson averages 3.5 takedowns in a three round fight. Casey is known to have bad take down defense. Casey does have a significant Jiu-Jitsu game, however, Robertson has a better overall game at this point. Robertson hunts for submissions and is gonna dominate the style match up between Casey.
Justin Jaynes (+290) vs. Frank Camacho (-380): Jaynes by KO/TKO
This is Jaynes’s UFC debut after one of Matt Frevola’s corner men tested positive for COVID. This being a debut makes it tough to bet. Jaynes does throw some heavy punches and Camacho takes a lot of shots. Camacho is definity the better fighter all-around, but Jaynes has the power to knock out Camacho.
Roxanne Modafferi (-105) vs. Lauren Murphy (-115): Modafferi by Decision
Modafferi looks like she has put on a lot of weight for this fight. It seems like everytime she fights she gets better. Murphy is a pure striker, but I feel like the smaller cage will come into play this time and Modafferi will win this one on the scorecard.
Max Rohskopf (-200) vs. Austin Hubbard (+150): Austin Hubbard by Decision
Rohskopf only has five MMA fights to his name up to this point. He is an NCAA wrestler, but has little to no striking game. This opened up at an even money fight, but I think the striking and the experience of Hubbard will ultimately prevail. I honestly think this number should be flipped.
Locks of the Card: Blaydes in the Distance, Hubbard
Longshot of the Card: Jaynes
Parlay: Hubbard, Roberts, Blaydes (+320)
The Sharp Side 