JIMMY FLICK VS ALESSANDRO COSTA
I understand the concerns around Jimmy Flick, he's 1-1 in the UFC and his last fight was a loss in January 2023. Before that fight however he had an extended layoff that lasted for three years in which he contemplated retirement. I'm going to say that extended time off and doubt about his career impacted and influenced that loss heavily as his UFC debut was an electrifying and rare submission victory in the very first round. If Flick shows up in the same form as his debut against Costa, who is coming off a loss of his own heading into this fight, I really like Flick as the Draftkings plus 235 dog in this matchup as of Friday, June 16th 2023.
PAT SABATINI VS LUCAS ALMEIDA
Sabatini is the Draftkings minus 200 favorite to win compared to Almeida's projection of plus 170. While Sabatini has the UFC experience advantage having more fights in the organization than Almeida, I'm unsure why the odds aren't closer. Almeida has tried to stay active since his last win in his UFC debut in June 2022 by ground and pound finish but fights with Hakeem Dawodu, Andre Fili, and Zubaira Tukhugov all fell through as no fault of Almeida as each opponent withdrew from the fights for various reasons. Much is not known about Almeida as a result of his limited UFC fight time but at current odds I anticipate him to be a worthwhile shot for your bets.
VETTORI VS CANNONIER
Arriving at our main event I believe the odds on this one are pretty accurate and can't disagree. Vettori is the Draftkings minus 125 favorite to Cannonier's plus 105. Both men have only lost to the top of the division with both of them having losses to Israel Adesanya, the current 185 division champ, and Robert Whittaker, the former champ and current number two man in the rankings in the division. Cannonier is coming off a controversial split decision win over Sean Strickland that boasted much inactivity and hesitation on the parts of both men but saw many fans and pundits proclaiming Strickland the winner. Judges witnessed it differently and scored the bout in favor of Cannonier. Vettori is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over hot prospect Roman Dolidze. Dolidze's hype reached a pitch before it was shutdown by Vettori in March of this year. As a result, I believe Vettori is the more well rounded fighter heading into this fight with a lot of positive momentum. Cannonier's power is feared in the division and his punches could end the fight at any time but Vettori has a strong chin and has never been finished in his pro fighting career in his 25 fights thus far. I like Vettori in this matchup.
MY CURRENT PREDICTION RECORD
At the end of every article to promote transparency and to hold myself accountable I'll go over my predictions record and outcomes from previous UFC fights I've discussed. Last week I went 1-1 on my predictions as I correctly predicted Charles Oliveira would finish Beneil Dariush as the heavy underdog and set the finish up with his striking. My incorrect prediction was that Irene Aldana would beat Amanda Nunes as the heavy underdog in that fight. Nunes comfortably controlled the fight and was never in any danger as it almost seemed like Aldana gave up after round one and recognized the power and skill disparity between herself and Nunes. Nunes won handily and retired after the fight, cementing her legacy in the division with a stunning performance. I'm currently 1-1 overall in all my UFC predictions at this point in my young journey. Thank you for reading and all betting odds are sourced from Draftkings.
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