Best bets for UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza
Last week’s UFC Las Vegas 80 proved that all athletes must be respected in the fight game. I made the blunder of having perceived that Bobby ‘King’ Green had no chance whatsoever in last week’s main event against Grant Dawson.
Green knocked Dawson cold inside two minutes of the opening round. Lesson learned: Respect all fighters at all times because every athlete who steps into the cage deserves respect and has a chance at winning. That was a rookie mistake on my part.
We move forward with a 16-16 -.85-unit tally into this week’s UFC LV81.
(All lines via DraftKings)
Sodiq Yusuff -160Â vs. Edson Barboza +135
Featherweight (145Â pounds) main event
These are top-15 ranked athletes which displays how deeply talented the featherweight division of the UFC is.
Brazilian Barboza, now 37, has earned a Black prajied in Muay Thai, a Black belt in Taekwondo as well as a Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He’s spent a great deal of his career battering lightweight fighters a weight class above this, and he has now transitioned into an elite-level 145-pounder.
A devastatingly powerful striker with flamboyant tendencies, Barboza requires distance to measure opponents. Then, in the blink of an eye, he will launch a spinning heel into their temple.
Barboza has been in with the elite of two divisions. He remains able to utilize his athleticism and, in this bout, he’ll be the taller, longer, larger fighter.
The Nigerian Yusuff is an athletic, ascending fighter decorated with a blue belt in BJJ but nowhere near as awarded as his opponent Barboza.
Yusuff is 6-1 in the UFC, but his decision loss in the co-main event to Arnold Allen three fights back displayed more aptitude than Yusuff had offered in all of his previous bouts. He’s since executed two sound victories which seemingly have him in an optimal position for this return to elite competition and his first main event opportunity.
Once the bell rings for round 1, it’s reasonable to expect Barboza to utilize his size, athleticism and IQ to remain at distance from the more compact power striker and try to accrue damage from outside of Yusuff’s limited striking range.
For his part, Yusuff must understand that he has 25 minutes here, and patience is required. At 30, he is in his prime while Barboza is seven years older and cutting dynamic amounts of weight to compete in this division.
A Yusuff plan that involves constant, matriculated forward pressure behind a combination-based striking attack is his path to success, provided his goal is to tire the old warrior early in this bout and then take him into the championship rounds for a beating.
Any plan of challenging the more grizzled MMA veteran into a firefight in the opening minutes may prove to be unwise. Yusuff must be patient early.
Yusuff’s goal is to take Barboza’s place in the rankings, and I believe his youth, complimented by his innate quickness and explosiveness will be apparent in the later stages of this fight when Barboza begins to wane and Yusuff begins to fire.
Pick: Yusuff -160
Total in this fight: 3.5 Rds. Under -145
Pick: Fight starts Round 4 +100
Jonathan Martinez -115Â vs. Adrian Yanez -105
Bantamweight (135 pounds)
Two top-15 ranked Texas athletes will meet on Saturday in what may be the most compelling bout on the card.
Martinez, a southpaw, has deeper experience and has been in with higher-level opponents than Yanez. His blue belt in BJJ only supplements Martinez’s strength which is based in Muay Thai striking.
Martinez is not flashy, fast, slick or evasive, but he is steady, forward-pressing, straight with his strikes and numbing with his kicks.
Yanez is the more athletically inclined fighter. He’s the fleeter afoot, he has the faster hands, and is overall a more aggressive striker than Martinez is. Yanez owns a black belt in BJJ, but I am doubtful we’ll see these two tussle on the floor. Rather, this fight sets up to be a very competitive striking battle.
In this striking battle, It’s the faster more precision striking Yanez that should own advantage early as well as this fight progresses and remains on the feet. Yanez gassed pretty well in his last outing, and it’s my judgment that we’ll see a more measured, refined, patient Adrian Yanez and one that knows he must keep this fight standing to win.
I expect Martinez to mix it up more because he can, and he can effectively usurp Yanez’s energy by doing so. It will be interesting to determine which of these two young ascending athletes is able to get their hand raised and be propelled up the rankings of this competitive division.
Total in this fight: 2.5 Rds. Under -135
I don’t believe either of these two warriors has any quit or defeat in them. I believe this dance goes to a decision.
Pick: Over 2.5 Rds. +115
GambLou’s ‘Bout Business Podcast is off yet another profitable UFC Saturday. Catch it Friday around Noon PT everywhere podcasts are offered.
Enjoy the fights and thank you for reading!
