UFC254 Has Fantastic Line-up Of Fights
The UFC has been in Abu Dhabi for the last four weeks and will hold one last card on October 24 before moving back to the United States. UFC254 will take place on Fight Island and feature a stacked line-up of fights that will be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje.
UFC254 is set to feature a total of 14 fights provided all the fighters test negative for COVID-19 and make weight successfully. The early prelims will feature three fights and will be headlined by the debut of Umar Nurmagomedov who is the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Umar Nurmagomedov is undefeated like his cousin and is a massive betting favorite with 1.16 odds while his opponent Sergey Morozov has odds of 5.50.
The preliminary card will see a total of fought fights and the two exciting ones on this card Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira (1.61) facing the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov (2.37). The preliminary card will be headlined by a heavyweight fight between Stefan Struve (1.80) and Aussie Tai Tuivasa (2.00).
The Main Card will feature 4 fights plus the co-main and main events. Two of the fights on the main card that you need to watch out for include the long-awaited light heavyweight bout between Ion Cutelaba (3.25) vs Magomed Ankalaev (1.36) and a heavyweight clash between Alexander Volkov (1.61) vs Walt Harris (2.37).
Main Event – Betting Odds
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the UFC light-heavyweight champion and the biggest Muslim superstar in the world. He will defend his title against UFC lightweight interim champion Justin Gaethje. Bookmakers have the undefeated Nurmagomedov as the overwhelming favorite with odds of 1.30 and Gaethje as the underdog with odds of 3.50.
MMA pundits believe that this could be the toughest test that Nurmagomedov has faced till date for a couple of reasons. This will be the first fight for Nurmagomedov since the loss of his father, who was also his coach from a young age. The second reason is that Nurmagomedov has made it a habit to take down his opponents to the mat and dominate them with ground and pound strikes.
Gaethje is a different cup of tea because he is a wrestler turned striker. He is an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and also a phenomenal striker with lethal leg kicks. Gaethje has not wrestled much during his fights because he believes that it drains his cardio. On October 24, Khabib Nurmagomedov will put Gaethje’s wrestling skills and cardio to the test.
The UFC has Michael Chandler as a backup who will make weight and be ready to step in if either Khabib or Gaethje fail to show up for the Main Event.
Betting Tip: Nurmagomedov Should Win By Decision.
Co-Main Event – Betting Odds
The co-main event will see former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (2.00) start out as the underdog against Jared Cannonier (1.80). The winner of this fight is most likely to get the next title fight against champ Israel Adesanya.
It’s a little surprising to see the sportsbooks favour Cannonier as Whittaker is a former champion and is coming off a win against Darren Till in July 2020. The last time Cannonier fought was back in September 2019 when he defeated Jack Hermansson by KO/TKO.
If this turns into a pure striking match, then Cannonier will have the advantage as he is a powerful striker and someone who can take a punch, given that he has fought in the UFC at heavyweight. Whittaker will need to use a combination of standup and ground and pound to get the better of Cannonier.
UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has backed Jared Cannonier to win and said he is keener on fighting Cannonier next than Whittaker as he already has a TKO victory over Whittaker.
Betting Tip: Cannonier Should Win By TKO.
MMA Betting Tips
Combat sports is very unpredictable because anything can happen during a fight. If you are an Indian bettor who is looking to bet on MMA for the first time, then we suggest you just place bets on the outright winner and back those fights where the fighter has an unbeaten record – there are three of them at UFC254.
However, if you are an experienced bettor and are willing to take some risks, then we suggest that you look at a few parlays as they will increase your odds of winning. We would back both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Umar Nurmagomedov to win, Cannonier, Tai Tuivasa and Magomed Ankalaev to win by TKO.
