Mixed martial arts returns to Nevada this weekend with a full card of fights scheduled for Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov is headlined by its namesake, which sees a bout between the experienced Sean Strickland and recent arrival Nassourdine Imavov in the middleweight division. With home favourite Strickland coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, France’s Imavov will fancy his chances of picking up a fourth consecutive win against the veteran. As well as this headliner, another 11 fights will go down on Saturday evening making it a fertile ground for betting.
We look at all the best odds with bookmaker William Hill and break down the most lucrative bets to be made ahead of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 12th, 9:30 P.M. (GMT)
The overall winner odds for each of these bouts indicate that there will be a plethora of hard fought fights on the weekend. Only Jimmy Flick vs. Charles Johnson, Daniel Argueta vs. Nick Aguirre, Mateusz Rebecki vs. Nick Fiore and Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos look like they will be one sided matches. The others, including the main event, look like they will be tight clashes with both competitors evenly matched.
This provides some excellent opportunities for betting, if punters know where to look. For example, betting on either Sean Strickland or Nassourdine Imavov to win outright is not a great wager with odds of only 2.00 or 1.80 either way and such a fine margin. However, digging deeper into the method of victory odds and the betting becomes a little more attractive.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 12th, 9:30 P.M. (GMT)
Looking at the knockout odds for each fighter, the bets are much more lucrative. For Strickland to win by knockout, William Hill is paying 3.75, while for Imavov, it’s at 4.33. Both of these men should fight freely and there will be ample opportunities for a knockout. Strickland is a 30 fight veteran who has lost his last two matches—he’ll be desperate for a win here and will more than likely come out looking for an early finish. While he’s no knockout artist, Brendan Allen will be able to testify to Strickland’s power having been knocked out by the American in 2020.
For Imavov, he’s also capable of delivering a finishing blow, doing so twice in 2021. The 26-year-old will be fighting full of confidence with little pressure on his shoulders given he’s fighting such an experienced opponent. Expect the Frenchman to find plenty of chances to land a knockout in this clash too.
We say Strickland getting his career back on track here with an emphatic knockout is the best bet, but betting on either man to win by knockout is a strong option.
