Boxing and MMA Betting Photo source: mmajunkie.usatoday.com
The tournament year for the largest fighting organization in the world, the UFC, was opened with the 246th numbered event, which recently thundered at the T-Mobile Arena. Literally on the last day, the tournament lost 2 matchups, but this hardly upset the MMA fans who were expecting it, because the main battle and the fact of Conor McGregor's return itself attracted the most attention. Nevertheless, the fights remaining on the card certainly found their audience – we tell how each of them went, and also whether the Irishman was able to celebrate his return to the industry with a victory.
Content
- Conor McGregor – Donald Cerrone
- Holly Holm – Raquel Pennington
- Alexey Oleinik – Maurice Green
- Od Osborne – Brian Kelleher
- Anthony Pettis – Diego Ferreira
- Macy Barber – Roxanne Modafferi
- André Fili – Sodik Yusuff
- Tim Elliot – Askar Askarov
- Nasrat Hakparast – Drew Dober
- Alexa Kamur – Justin Ledet
- Sabina Mazo – JJ Aldrich
- All Fight Results and UFC 246 Bonuses
Conor McGregor – Donald Cerrone
More than a month of waiting and here it is – the return of Conor McGregor. We doubt it could have been even better. A few seconds after the start of the fight, a clinch ensues, where the Irishman punches his counterpart with his shoulder and then, coming out of it, charges a powerful high-kick right into Cerrone's jaw and rushes behind the finish line, which he makes out without any problems.
It took only 40 seconds for our bet to end the fight to come in, and all the sports media were full of headlines “The King Is Back”.
Holly Holm – Raquel Pennington
Probably, Holm considers the clinch to be the salvation from all problems, because it was on it that she built her game plan and did not dare to give it up even when her contracting style worked with her opponent. But from this, Holly, with the exception of entertainment, did not lose anything. Near the net, she easily controlled Pennington and, if necessary, without problems, due to her advantage in strength, regained her position.
However, we hope for fewer such co-main battles in the future. Exactly as well as losing bets, because we were rooting for Raquel.
Alexey Oleinik – Maurice Green
No matter how old you are, the skill will always be with you – the veracity of this fact often finds proof, and Oleinik also contributed to this. Despite the significantly smaller size, he got close to Green without any problems and whenever he tried, he transferred him to the ground. In the first round, the Russian had good chances to secure the prospect, but he defended well.
Despite the fact that trying to arrange the finish, Alexei left a lot of energy, in the second five-minute he was enough for one more transfer and “rushn armbar”, because of which our forecast for his opponent's Victoria did not come true.
Od Osborne – Brian Kelleher
As it turned out, Osborne has superiority over Kelleher not only in reach, but also in speed. He was able to take advantage of these advantages only in part, since after the start of the fight he quickly found himself on the ground. Having taken the top position, Brian did not let go of his counterpart, and when the prospect was on the rise trying to get rid of an experienced opponent, he caught him with a “guillotine” through his hand.
We will watch the newcomer of the promotion further. Perhaps, in the future, our bet on his Victoria will be justified, but not this time.
Anthony Pettis – Diego Ferreira
The fighters started off with good exchanges, after which they slowed down and began to work in a more relaxed manner. If in the stand Pettis could compete with the Brazilian and gave a close first round, then in the ground game the difference, of course, was noticeable. Ferreira translated Anthony without any problems and changed positions while on the ground with him.
In the second round, the next transition of the fight to the ground ended with a logical outcome – Diego, having previously prepared everything necessary, threw an RNC on Pettis and made him knock. In addition to the American, our bet on his victoria also lost.
Macy Barber – Roxanne Modafferi
Did you order the second upset within the same tournament? Together with Nasrat Hakparast, Macy Barber upset her fans – with the title shot, which she was predicted soon, she will probably have to wait. That aspect that Modafferi could take advantage of was the parterre. And it was on the ground that she turned out to be stronger than a promising rival, who, as the fight dragged out, began to lose to Roxanne in a standing position, getting knocked down at one of the moments.
We decided to play on the Modafferi fortress and for the winning bet we offered the option with the beginning of the 2nd round.
André Fili – Sodik Yusuff
If, based on the first round, where there were severe exchanges and attempts to carry out a submission, one could conclude that this meeting claims to be the battle of the evening, then subsequently the ardor of the fighters significantly diminished. The second five-minute session was held under the control of Yusuff in the stalls, and the third – mainly on his feet and with Fili's superiority over the Nigerian, who was noticeably addicted.
Our bet on this fight was that it ended early and, despite all the prerequisites, did not play.
Tim Elliot – Askar Askarov
Throughout the fight, the Russian was superior to his opponent, both in the stand and in the fight, which, by the way, was not so much here, since both fighters defended well against takedowns. The correct decision from Elliot was the constant pressure of Askarov, who manifests himself in the best way at a distance, but he did not take out significant dividends from this strategy and was shot by his counterpart.
The second round turned out to be a small exception, in which the American performed 3 transfers and, in the opinion of only one of the judges, looked stronger in it. Our bet on Victoria Askar Askarov comes in without any problems.
Nasrat Hakparast – Drew Dober
Probably, if many expected a knockout in this fight, then from the ward Firas Zahabi, but everything turned out exactly the opposite. After a small exchange, Hakparast decided to throw out a low-kick, for which he paid with a left cross that came to him on a counterattack. In this case, the finish of the German on the ground was just a formality.
We bet on Nasrat's Victoria by unanimous decision and this forecast, accordingly, does not come through.
Alexa Kamur – Justin Ledet
This fight was supposed to answer the question of what Ledet was doing during the break all year. He was definitely not going to return and break into the tops of the light heavyweight category. Trying to knock out the opponent in different ways in the first round, Kamur noticeably sagged in cardio, but Justin could not take advantage of this, who in every five minutes lost both in accuracy and in the number of punches delivered.
Realizing the danger of the prospect, Justin started and ended this fight in a calm manner, not forgetting about the defense. Due to this and not only our rate on TB 1.5 comes with a margin.
Sabina Mazo – JJ Aldrich
From the first seconds of the fight, Aldrich began to twist Mazo to the left, not allowing her to switch stances and showing an advantage in both speed and timing. This tactic allowed her to take the 1st round, but in the second five minutes, Sabina turned on the pressure, began to cut corners and engage the Thai clinch, the greatest effect of which was noticeable in the last five minutes of the fight – the American did not know how to deal with it.
And if everything was clear with the 1st and 3rd rounds, then the 2nd could have gone to one or the other athlete, and, unfortunately, the judges on that day were not on our side.
All Fight Results and UFC 246 Bonuses
- Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone – Conor McGregor won by TKO in the first round.
- Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington – Holly Holm wins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
- Alexey Oleinik vs. Maurice Green – victory of Alexey Oleinik by submission in the second round.
- Od Osborne vs. Brian Kelleher – Brian Kelleher wins by submission in the first round.
- Anthony Pettis vs. Diego Ferreira – Diego Ferreira wins by submission in the second round.
- Macy Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi – Victory of Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (26-30, 27-30, 27-30).
- Andre Fili vs. Sodik Yusuff – Sodik Yusuff won by unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29).
- Tim Elliot vs. Askar Askarov – victory of Askar Askarov by unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29).
- Nasrat Hakparast vs. Drew Dober – Drew Dober won by TKO in the first round.
- Alexa Kamur vs. Justin Ledet – Victory for Alexa Kamur via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
- Sabina Mazo vs. JJ Aldrich – Sabina Mazo wins via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Fight of the evening: was not awarded.
Evening performance: Drew Dober, Diego Ferreira, Brian Kelleher, Alexey Oleinik and Conor McGregor.
Summing up, it is easy to notice that in terms of results, the event turned out to be quite unpredictable. On the other hand, both Russian fighters have won victories, and their prospects are of interest. But who will become the next opponent of Askar Askarov and whether Alexey Oleinik will return to the fights with the top 265 pounds – questions about the future, as well as the one with whom Conor McGregor will fight. Fortunately, the expectation of news will brighten up interesting events. These include UFC Fight Night 166 and the 247th numbered tournament, which will be held on February 9 and will present viewers with fights for titles in the light heavyweight and women's flyweight categories.
