Best Bets for UFC 219: Weekly Wagering Deep Dive

Posted September 10, 2019

UFC 219 is set to take place this Saturday night (Dec. 30) in Las Vegas, Nevada, and let’s just say that it doesn’t scream”caliber” like previous end-of-year UFC cards.
Normally the UFC piles its card of the year from top to base. In 2017, we now get a major event between Holly Holm and Cris Cyborg. Though it has the potential to be a fantastic fight, it doesn’t necessarily scream”purchase this pay-per-view!”
This is also a very hard card to bet on as there are not a lot of fights which it is possible to find a powerful read on. A number of the favorites, like Cyborg and Khabib Nurmagomedov, deserve to become overpowering favorites, yet could also readily get merked by their competitions. Danger lurks.
Nevertheless, we need to make some plays. So let us do the best we can to find some golden underdogs, a few worthy props, and a rewarding softball. Additionally checking out my Best Bets for UFC Futures from a week, where I proposed a few’puppies (Carla Esparza and Neil Magny) who still hold some value.
Golden Underdogs
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori (-222) vs. Omari Akhmedov (+187)
At first glance, this moneyline at BetOnline seems perfectly acceptable, but if you have a better look at this preliminary matchup, you can get some strong reasons to select the dog in Omari”The Wolverine” Akhmedov (17-4).
Although Marvin Vettori (12-3) is a bigger fighter who loves to throw down, averaging 3.13 significant strikes landed per moment, he doesn’t have enough power to shoot Akhmedov out via (T)KO, so this fight could wind up being a grappling affair. While Akhmedov has revealed previously that he has some power in his own hands (seven wins by knockout and also two”Fight of the Night” bonuses in the UFC), where he excels is in the wrestling section. The Dagestani grappler may easily wind up controlling the fight if the bulk is invested in the clinch or around the mat.
The sole kryptonite I see for Akhmedov is his gasoline tank. Will he hit a cardio wall just like he did in successive knockout losses to Sergio Moraes and Elizeu Zaleski? In both of these declines, Akhmedov started strong but faded badly in the subsequent rounds.
He followed up those losses with two hard-working decision wins over Kyle Noke and Abdul Razak Alhassan, the latter an upset at UFC Fight Night 109. Right now I am leaning towards”The Wolverine’s” hard palms and wrestling acumen for a second possibly rewarding upset.