It’s the start of back-to-back canceled bouts for UFC main events, starting in Saudia Arabia with Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov.
Khamzat Chimaev was initially slated to fight Whittaker in this fight card, but he pulled out of another big bout again.
Last week we had a dominant showing, landing the plane on a +900 bet on Weston Wilson by submission in round and another winning wager on Lucas Almeida by decision at +600.
The impressive showing was on it’s way to a historic night had Alex Perez not seemingly blown out his leg in the main event.
He appeared to be on his way to a +550 decision victory in the main event.
In total, we go 6-5 on the night with an incredible 15.24 units won and a wild 138.55% Return on Investment.
Doesn’t get much better than that.
The good times keep rolling for the early Saturday card, which begins at 12 p.m. ET, getting primetime treatment on ESPN and then ABC starting at 3 p.m. ET.
UFC Saudi Arabia predictions
Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov
Middleweight legend Robert Whittaker takes on rising prospect Aliskerov in an intriguing bout.
Neither fighter is taking this fight on short notice, as Aliskerov was supposed to fight last week before Chimaev pulled out.
Whittaker is a legend, but the reality is, he’s getting older and fast.
Even more concerning is that he’s been starting slow, something that will be very troubling against a very dangerous fighter like Aliskerov.
Should Whittaker get through the first two rounds, he’ll be very worthy of a live bet, as his experience should take over before long.
However, I have serious concerns whether he can even last that long against a striker like Aliskerov.
Whittaker was not preparing for this style of opponent, as Chimaev is a nasty grappler, whereas Aliskerov prefers to strike.
Don’t bet Whittaker until during or after round 2 at plus-money, he’s not ot be trusted early.
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Kelvin Gastelum missed weight for this bout against Daniel Rodriguez, which will not take place at middleweight.
Rodriguez is coming off a horrific performance against Ian Machado Garry, where he was TKO’d in the first round.
Rodriguez has lost two straight and has no real grappling instincts to speak of.
Gastelum should be able to land multiple takedowns in this one and cruise to a decision, even if he’s out of shape with a missed weigh-in.
Rodriguez isn’t exactly an Olympic-level athlete himself.
PICK: Gastelum by decision (+112, ESPN BET)
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UFC Saudi Arabia full card picks
- Robert Whittaker (-152) vs. Ikram Aliskerov: Whittaker live after round 2
- Sergei Pavlovich (-230) vs. Alexander Volkov: Pass
- Kelvin Gastelum (-198) vs. Daniel Rodriguez: Gastelum by decision (+112, BetRivers)
- Shara Magomedov (-535) vs. Antonio Trocoli: Magomedov by decision (+470, FanDuel)
- Johnny Walker (-110) vs. Volkan Oezdemir: Oezdemir by submission (15/1, BetRivers)
- Nasrat Haqparast (-230) vs. Jared Gordon: Gordon by decision (+310, BetMGM)
- Muhammad Naimov (+100) Felipe Lima: Pass
- Rinat Fakhretdinov (-345) vs. Nicolas Dalby: Fakhretdinov ML for parlays
- Kyung Ho Kang (+130) vs. Muin Gafurov Kang by submission (+650, DraftKings)
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (-340) vs. Brendson Ribeiro: Pass
- Xiao Long (-105) vs. Chang Ho Lee: Long by decision (+163, Caesars)