The next UFC occasion — UFC on Fox 27 — goes down this Saturday (Jan. 27th) and comes with a main-event tilt between Ronaldo”Jacare” Souza and Derek Brunson. This is actually the second time both of these middleweights will face off, with Souza winning through knockout in their first go around in 2012. However, time is a funny thing, and six decades later, it is Brunson riding the tide of momentum while Souza regroups after a catastrophic loss that cost him a shot in the UFC middleweight title.
Super Bowl 52 Futures: Assessing the Likelihood of Patriots and the Eagles READ MORE
Even though this isn’t the tastiest primary class the UFC has ever served, it is a captivating contrast in styles, and every MMA event, no matter the hype, creates potential gambling opportunities. Where is the smart money going for Souza vs Brunson 2?
Stay tuned for a more comprehensive look at the card in Best Bets for UFC on Fox 27 this Thursday.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (-160) vs. Derek Brunson (+135)
Jacare Souza fighting in Strikeforce.
Jacare Souza combating in Strikeforce. Photo from LowLight (YouTube) [CC License].
This is your traditional battle of styles. Ronaldo Souza (24-5, 17 submissions) is one of the very best jiu-jitsu practitioners to step foot into a UFC Octagon while Derek Brunson (18-5, 10 KOs) loves to put people to sleep with his powerful fists.
The first time these two combatants met was back in 2012 under the old Strikeforce bannerand it was actually Souza who was able to put Brunson to sleep with a fast hook, just one of three career knockouts for the Brazilian.
Through GIPHY
Six decades later, Brunson, a former Division II All-American wrestler (and cheerleader!) , has an opportunity for revenge.
His opponent is one of the most feared grapplers around the planet and has stopped 58-percent of his own struggles via submission. As he showed in the first matchup, he is not too shabby in casting leather . He lands a decent 2.28 significant strikes every minute and has a striking accuracy of 44.1-percent.
Souza suffered a catastrophic loss to Robert Whittaker through head kick in his last struggle (April 2017), but he has also won 10 of his last 12 and hasn’t lost back-to-back conflicts in his career. A win on Saturday would put Souza’s title back into middleweight title film, and time is of the essence for its 38-year-old.
In 34, Derek Brunson’s own career clock is now getting late. He rebounded from back-to-back losses to Whittaker and Anderson Silva with KO wins over Dan Kelly (June 2017) and Lyoto Machida (October 2017), rising up the middleweight positions in the procedure. Knocking guys out is not anything new for the hard-hitting middleweight, who averages 3.2 significant strikes per minute using a striking accuracy of 32.1-percent. He’s won 61-percent of his struggles via KO and has generated knockouts in each of his past six successes. Interestingly, he’s never been filed in his career.
The contrasting styles make this a tremendously interesting fight for MMA purists. Normally, it is wise to lean towards the high-level grappler over the power puncher, but Souza’s age coupled with his last performance suggest a possible Brunson upset. Search for the American to utilize his speed, power, and five-inch achieve advantage (77??? vs 72???) to attempt to end things early, while utilizing his elite wrestling to keep the fight standing.
At the moment, Brunson is listed at +135 on MyBookie.ag. It’s a fantastic value bet worth getting now.
Read more: sportxmagazine.com
Loading ...