UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs The Korean Zombie *The leans below will not count to my stats here in this thread. Follow or fade, it's up to you! LOST - Take
Gadzhimurad Antigulov over Maxim Grishin (4:35p.m., Saturday, October 17th)
In an early prelim bout, we have a light heavyweight matchup between Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-7) and Maxim Grishin (30-8). Bettors beware - both men are not elite level MMA athletes. Antigulov is 33 years of age, and is on a 3-fight losing streak, all by 1st round finish and 36-year-old Grishin lost his UFC debut by nothing other than a tremendously low workrate. Antigulov will bring full energy from the first minute attempting to sink in a submission, but this all-out approach has been his achilles heel as of late. He does pack some power in his hands, but do not get it twisted - he is always looking to set up the takedown so he can work on the ground. Grishin on the other hand is patient, will wait for his opportunities and has shown the power to shut the lights out. Grishin is the much bigger fighter here, and with the recent performances of Antigulov it is no surprise to see the current market price this high. Having said that, we believe the Antigulov cardio narrative is being overblown. Yes, his cardio is questionable, and yes, he has completely fallen off a cliff from time to time - but Grishin's slow, low-volume approach should not cause too many issues for Antigulov in that department. Gun to head, we probably believe Grishin wins by KO - but there is clear value here on Antigulov where we can buy his stock at the lowest possible price. He'll bring all he can here, as he cannot afford another loss... he's essentially fighting for his job and position in the UFC. We'll bite.
LOST - Take
Jamie Mullarkey over Fares Ziam (5:00p.m., Saturday, October 17th)
Next up we have a matchup between Jamie Mullarkey (12-3) and Fares Ziam (10-3). There is not too much to say about this one. Both fighters lost in their UFC debut and will potentially be fighting for their position with the organization. Mullarkey lost against Brad Riddell back in 2019 (no shame there) and was scheduled to fight the talented Jalin Turner earlier this year before that bout was cancelled. Both those opponents clearly show the UFC's confidence in this young man. Ziam on the other hand lost a dominant decision to Don Madge in a performance that did not sit right with us. It should also be noted that Ziam has fought the seemingly worse level of competition outside of the UFC, but this is always hard to determine with the tomato cans on the regional scene. Mullarkey, despite losing his debut, showed clear determination and heart, alongside the drive and will to win vs the much tougher opponent. If Ziam is able to utilize his range and work from distance, he may have some success here, but overall we cannot pass up the grit Mullarkey possesses and that can be all the difference in a fight like this. We will side with the small favorite who we believe should be priced closer to -170 or so.
WON - Take
Guram Kutateladze over Mateusz Gamrot (6:35p.m., Saturday, October 17th)
In the featured prelim of the evening we have a lightweight matchup between undefeated Mateusz Gamrot (17-0) and Guram Kutateladze (11-2). Win or lose - these are the opportunities we live for as we love to fade unproven high stock which is something that has worked out very well for us in the long-term. Polish Guram Kutateladze has it all going for him, doesn't he? Undefeated Champion (in other organizations), dangerous southpaw, trains with American Top Team and will be making his long-awaited UFC debut, in the featured prelim against the much lesser known Guram Kutateladze. Gamrot is a fluid striker who can push the pace, and throw high volume, accurate combinations. Kutateladze on the other hand is more unpredictable and somewhat a wild-card, but he throws with some serious power and bad-intention. This can be seen with four of his last five coming by way of vicious KO. Guram trains with Khamzat Chimaev (who we believe has all the tools to be a title contender / champion) and we have no doubts that we will see the best Kutateladze to date. While we understand the hype behind the Polish standout, we cannot get behind a price this wide when we have no clue how he will perform under the bright lights. The issue we have with Gamrot is that while he is no doubt talented, he does not have one aspect which is clearly elite to justify such a price tag vs. the tough, heavy-handed Kutateladze. Once again, we will bite by fading the overpriced hype train in their debut.
WON - Take
Jonathan Martinez over Thomas Almeida (7:00p.m., Saturday, October 17th)
Kicking off the main-card on ESPN, we have a featherweight matchup between Thomas Almeida (22-3) and Jonathan Martinez (12-3). Thomas Almedia was on an absolute tear in his MMA career with a 20-0 record including 3 knockout wins in a row in the UFC. He was being touted as the next biggest thing - then he ran into Cody Garbrandt who had other plans by finishing Almeida in the first round via KO. Almeida answered back by winning his comeback fight, but that was against an average opponent in Albert Morales. He then proceeded to lose two in a row vs Jimmie Rivera and Rob Font which was back in 2018 and has not fought since due an eye injury that required surgery. Martinez on the other hand has been highly active and is coming off an absolute domination of Frankie Saenz back in early August. If not for a close split-decision loss to Andre Ewell, he would be riding a four-fight winning streak. The thing we like about Martinez is his clear development and growth as a martial artist, and his ever-improving skill set and octagon IQ. This is something that cannot be said of Almeida who simply comes forward guns blazing, with that kill or be-killed mentality. Both fighters pack a ton of power for the division, but we believe the wrong man is favored. We understand Martinez is stepping in on short notice, but he's been in there multiple times since we last saw Almeida. If not for all the uncertainty surrounding this fight we would go heavier here but make no mistake - we love this position for Martinez as long as he doesn't get suckered into a swinging match. Love the value here.
LOST - Take
Claudio Silva over James Krause (7:30p.m., Saturday, October 17th)
Next up, we have a welterweight bout between Claudio Silva (14-1) and James Krause (27-9). 38-year-old Claudi Silva is now 5-0 in the UFC and is coming off three-straight submission wins. That is impressive regardless of who you are fighting at this level. It should be noted that Silva lost his MMA career debut just (as many have) but has since reeled off 14-straight. He will be facing James Krause, who is returning to welterweight after a brief move up to middleweight. This is a short notice fight for Krause, and we are truly shocked at this price. We understand Krause can handle himself on the ground, and the longer this fight stays standing the better for him, but with the level of submission and grappling threats Silva possesses, in a fight we believe will end up on the ground, we cannot ignore this price. This opened Silva +160 earlier in the week and we would have made this a much bigger wager at that price, but there is still value here. Silva by submission.
LOST - Take
Modestas Bukauskas over Jimmy Crute (8:10p.m., Saturday, October 17th)
Next up, we have a light heavyweight matchup between Jimmy Crute (11-1) and Modestas Bukauskas (11-2). Here is another spot where we will look to fade the public narrative and hype. Jimmy Crute is becoming a fan favorite and it is not hard to see why. He has had 5 fights under the UFC umbrella, and holds a 4-1 record with none of them making it to the scorecards. He has 2 wins by submission, 2 wins by knockout, and 1 loss by submission. He is fun to watch! Bukauskas on the other hand is a tough Lithuanian, quietly enjoying a 7-fight winning streak and isn't respected or appreciated by many - including the oddsmakers (or is he?). This is a clear fight the public will be all over Crute and setting him in the -300 range creates the perfect enticing parlay piece. All we can tell you is Bukauskas is a live dog, and that +255 is absurdly high. He is light on his feet, moves well and has some very nice kicks which could chew up Crute's lead leg. Crute will land shots, but Modestas has a solid chin and should be able to eat them. We expect to see a motivated Bukauskas and one that will finally make himself known to the world.