Most sports leagues have found a way to make things work in 2020, but few have had as much success as UFC. While Dana White hasn’t been able to get those all-important gate receipts, the push forward from UFC brought a lot of new fans into the mix, especially back in May and June when there wasn’t much else to watch in the sports world.
Week after week, White has put together a fight card, either at the UFC Apex training facility in Las Vegas or on appropriately-named Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The promotion’s final PPV of 2020 will commence on Saturday night, headlined by a main event for the UFC Flyweight Championship between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
Since DraftKings Sportsbook is running an outstanding Triple Your Winnings 200% Profit Boost promotion for the fight card, we’ll use their odds to take a look at some of the fights scheduled for Saturday.
We’ll start from the top down with that Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno fight. The champ is -335 in a fight that will make history. This is the fastest turnaround for a title fight in UFC history. Both Figueiredo and Moreno fought back on November 21, as Figueiredo defended the strap against Alex Perez and Moreno bested Brandon Royval.
Both fighters won via first-round stoppage and didn’t take much abuse, so they were cleared to fight in this one, almost out of necessity because other title fights in the works didn’t come together. Figueiredo should hold serve here as the heavy favorite in a matchup between flyweights that actually have pretty big striking power.
Tony Ferguson (-175) is a growing favorite for his fight against Charles Oliveira (+140). This line was lower earlier in the week and when the matchups were announced, but Ferguson, who did lose last time out to Justin Gaethje, has taken the money. Oliveira scored a submission win over Kevin Lee in his last match, but he was likely trailing, and possibly significantly, on the cards when he got the guillotine choke and the win.
Maybe the most intriguing fight on the card is Kevin Holland (-124) vs. Ronaldo Souza (+100). The man known as Jacare is on the backside of his career. He’s given a lot to the sport, but so has Yoel Romero, who was unceremoniously released from UFC this week. At 41, Jacare may have one last chance to show he still belongs.
This is a big step up for Holland, who will be fighting for the fifth time in 2020. While Holland is quicker, and likely stronger at this stage of Souza’s career, this is a big fight for Holland against somebody with a lot of fight IQ. Holland does have a size advantage here in the smaller UFC Apex Octagon and this is a line that has been shifting towards Holland as the week goes along.
It is tough to bet the Junior Dos Santos (+300) vs. Ciryl Gane (-400) fight because Gane should take care of business. Dos Santos, better known as Cigano, is at the point of his career where he is playing a heavyweight version of Donald Cerrone. He is a name opponent on the wrong side of the aging curve that can serve as a “nice” win for up-and-coming fighters.
In fairness, Cigano has lost to very good fighters the likes of Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his last three fights. Gane may not be on that level, but he’s priced pretty heavily here to follow in the footsteps of the others. Dos Santos has been asked about Romero’s departure and the rumored departures of other over-the-hill veteran fighters, so he has a lot on the line here, but the elder statesman just might not have enough in the tank.
If you want to look for an upset, perhaps late replacement Sam Hughes (+355) is the one to look at against Tecia Torres (-500). Hughes is 2-1 in LFA and is stepping up in class to face a strong fighter in Torres here, but Torres doesn’t have much striking power and hasn’t won by submission often. She wins by decision. If Hughes is the more aggressive fighter or brings something to the table that Torres doesn’t expect, it wouldn’t be a total stunner.
Similarly, in the other women’s fight between Virna Jandiroba (+148) and Mackenzie Dern (-186), it sure feels like the favorite is a little bit overpriced. These two fighters have very similar styles and similar results. Dern may simply be a better version of Jandiroba, with one loss to Amanda Ribas to her name, but the underdog in a fight likely to be kept on the mat that goes to the cards might not be a bad gamble.
Be sure to make DraftKings Sportsbook your home for betting all UFC fights. Along with this week’s Triple Your Winnings 200% Profit Boost, you’ll get other special offers for future PPV events and also have the largest selection of fight props.