This weekend the UFC returns to the most iconic arenas in sports when it heads to Madison Square Garden.
When the fight card was announced months ago it was originally slated to have Jon Jones facing off against Stipe Miocic. The best heavyweight fight was put on hold because Jon Jones tore his PEC during training.
Instead of finding a replacement to fight Stipe the UFC went an entirely different route booking Sergei Pavlovich VS Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight belt.
Recap Of UFC 294
The last time we had a PPV event to talk about was when the UFC was at Abu Dhabi last month for UFC 294. Hopefully, you followed my picks because I WAS ON FIRE!
- Said Nurmagomedov By Submission +210 (1U) WIN
- Ikram Aliskerov Win In Round 1 +115 (2U) WIN
- Kamaru Usman Vs Khamzat Chimaev To Go Distance +150 (1U) WIN
- Alexander Volkanovski +210 (1U) LOSE
- Silva & Magomedov Under 1.5 Rounds -105 (1U) LOSE
- Muhammad Naimov +260 (1U) WIN
- PARLAY: Said Nurmagomedov + Ikram Aliskerov + Khamzat Chimanev (+115) 1U WIN
- PARLAY: Said Nurmagomedov + Ikram Aliskerov (-147) 1.5U WIN
- Said Nurmagomedov + Ikram Aliskerov 1st Round Finish (+210) 1U WIN
7-2 (+10.5U)
WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE HATERS AT NOW? BANG BANG THIS GUY MIGHT BE A UFC SHARP! My only two losses came in the first fight of the night and the last. Everything in between was straight winning. 2U BANG on a +115, 3 WINS on bets over +200… THE RUSSIAN PARLAYS WOULDA ALL HIT! Overall a great day in Abu Dhabi can we roll it over to UFC 295?
UFC 295 PPV CARD
No promises my card will be as stacked as UFC 294. There’s just something about those all-Russian cards that scream free money. Maybe it’s because you can blindly bet them and you know you will break even at worst.
Can we stay hot when the UFC heads to Madison Square Garden this weekend? Here are my previews + best bets for each of the PPV fights.
Match 5: Diego Lopes (Even) Vs Pat Sabatini (-120)
Starting off the PPV we have two names you might not be familiar with. This will be Diego Lopes’s 3rd UFC fight (22-6 overall) facing off against the three-year UFC vet Pat Sabatini. Both fighters are looking to start a winning streak after each winning their last fights via submission.
Preview: I hate Diego Lopes so Pat Sabatini is definitely winning this fight. I just don’t know how this fight will play out. The decision odds are kinda juicy. (+150)
Best Bet: Pat Sabatini -120
Match 4: Matt Frevola (+183) Vs Benoit Saint-Denis (-225)
This fight is not getting enough hype. What a fight between two experienced UFC vets. Matt Frevola has been in the UFC since 2018 and holds a career record of 11-3-1. He’s on a three-fight winning streak all via KO.
Benoit Saint-Denis sits at 12-1, with all 12 of his wins coming via finish (3 KO, 9 Submissions). He’s only 27 and could easily be on his way to a championship fight. This is a fight you don’t want to blink during.
Preview: Nothing worse than when I can’t pick a side. My first instinct was Matt Frevola, but after rewatching Benoit Saint Denis’s highlights it’s hard to not pick him.
Best Bet: Fight To Go Distance +285… IDK if this will make it on my betting card though.
Match 3: Jessica Andrade (+170) Vs Mackenzie Dern (-210)
WHAT A GREAT MATCHUP TO HAVE BEFORE THE TWO BIG FIGHTS! NOT! Put this in the 4th/5th spot. Mackenzie Dern’s fights suck because they always go the distance. Will this reverse-jinx her into KO Andrade? Hopefully not because I will NOT be betting on her in this fight.
Preview: Jessica Andrade always responds to a loss with a win. Her KO prop is at +420 which could be worth sprinkling on.
Best Bet: Jessica Andrade +170 & Fight To Go Distance +165 (too good of odds to not take for a Dern Fight)
Co-Main Event: Sergei Pavlovich (-105) Vs Tom Aspinall (-115)
This fight is for the interim heavyweight belt, and as the odds reflect this fight couldn’t be closer. So tough that I don’t even know who to pick. All 7 of Sergei Pavlovich’s UFC fights have ended via 1st round KO. He’s won SIX OF THEM!
That would sound scary to 99.9% of people on this planet. Guess who would be in that rare .1% not scared category. Tom Aspinall is just as scary as his opponent and that’s saying something. Aspinall has also fought 7 times in the UFC with all but one also ending in the first round. He’s 6-1 with his only loss coming because of a knee injury 15 seconds into his fight against Curtis Blaydes. The fight is set to go 5 rounds… Will these fighters come out cautious against each other or will the first-round finish trend continue?
Preview: Call me crazy but the first round to finish at +105 might be a good play here. Vegas and every person who just saw what I said would know to take the fight to not make it out of round 1… But with the fight being 5 rounds I really could see this first round being a bunch of dancing. As for the fight, I don’t think there’s a chance it goes the distance (+650) but the longer the fight goes the more I think it benefits Aspinall.
Best Bet: Fight To Complete Round 1 +105
Main Event: Jiří Procházka (+105) Vs Alex Pereira (-125)
Out of all my UFC blogs, this one has to be the toughest trying to figure out who is going to win. Usually, I have a hunch about who I think is going to win but I can honestly say I don’t on 3/5 fights on this PPV card. I’d be better off flipping a coin than putting my brain through this mental warfare trying to find the winner.
The main event is for the Light Heavyweight championship belt. This may only be Jiří Procházka’s 4th UFC fight, but what an impact he has made instantly. He’s 3-0 with all of his fights ending from a finish. He may only be 31 but he has a career record of 29-3-1 and is currently on a 14-fight winning streak with only one going the distance.
Alex Pereira stands across from him, and if you aren’t familiar with who he is you must not be familiar with the UFC. He’s 1-0 since making the move up in weight class to light heavyweight, and there’s a clear reason he’s the betting favorite against the beast standing across from him. Alex Pereira wants to get revenge for his good friend Glover Teixeria. Will he hold his word?
Preview: Still have no idea who’s going to win this fight. I know Alex Pereria will be the popular choice but Jiří Procházka was my first instinct and I think he will find a way to win.
Best Bet: Fight Completes Two Rounds +100
UFC 295 Betting Card
What a difference one card makes. I was so confident in all my picks for UFC 294 and I guess the results showed. Can we stay hot or will our hesitant picks come back to bite us in the ass?
- Pat Sabatini -120 (1.5U) & Sabatini By Decision +275 (.5U)
- Lopes/Sabatini To Go Distance +150 (1U)
- Jessica Andrade +170 (1U)
- Andrade/Dern To Go Distance +165 (1U)
- Pavlovich/Aspinall To Complete Round 1 +105 (2U)
- Procházka/Pereira To Complete Round 2 +100 (1U)
- Jiří Procházka +105 (1U)
Final Words
Even when my confidence is low I find a way to have a loaded card. The best part is we have most of it riding on those first couple of fights so hopefully things don’t go south fast.
I’m 1-0 on my last 1 UFC betting blog… DO NOT LET ME GET HOT!
Iconic Madison Square Garden UFC Fights
Connor McGregor Wins Double Belt
UFC 268 @ Madison Square Garden
Chandler Vs Gaethje
One of the best fights of all time.
Another UFC 268: Kamaru Usman Vs Colby Covington
UFC 281:
Chandler Vs Poirier
Another Chandler fight… But yet again if all his fights were at MSG they would all be on this list.
Adesanya Vs Pereira
Will we get another one this weekend?
Some people call me MarTy and some people call me Ryan. Wildcard when it comes to my writing. #FadeMe if I ever tweet out “locks”.